Peripheral Reality
by Shinsun
Summary: A KakaKu fanfiction. Goku, while at SSJ4, pushes his power too high and accidentally rips a hole in time and space, transporting him to a completely different dimension, where he is rescued from the brink of death by... himself. Kakarot, a young Super Saiyan on Vegeta-sei, finds him, and he fights to deny his attraction to the stranger named Goku as he is betrothed to another.
1. Chapter 1

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 1

_Everything was a blur of color and sound. Goku tried to make sense of the chaos whirling around him, but he could scarcely see in front of his own nose. His tail lashed in agitation as he felt something around him, near him, in him rip and tear free of the reality he knew, and he was slammed into unconsciousness in the moment that his insanely high power level crashed, his vision fading out to black._

X

Whoever he was, he was a stranger. Kakarot cautiously approached the unconscious person sprawled on the limb of an old tree. The limb had cracked a little under the weight of the person, who was lying in a painful looking tangle of limbs, twigs tangled in a long black snarl of hair, cuts and bruises marring the lush red fur that covered much of the stranger's body. Maybe he was dead...

Picking up a branch that had broken off of the tree, Kakarot approached the person and, warily, as if the limp form might attack him, he prodded one furred shoulder with the stick. He immediately dropped into a defensive crouch, but the person didn't react. Kakarot's blonde eyebrows furrowed over his green eyes, and he crept forward again and placed two fingers on the strange person's corded neck, below the jugular. He could decipher a pulse, slow though it was, and knew the person was alive. Unconscious and very badly injured, bleeding heavily, but alive.

"Hey, Kakarot!" a rough voice shouted from behind him. He turned, tail swishing, to see his sparring partner running to catch up with him; Vegeta, irritated at the universe as always.

"What do you have there?" the older Saiyan asked, peering over Kakarot's shoulder at the unconscious body splayed on the tree limb.

"I'm not sure," he admitted, "I found him like this. At first I thought he was a jzagalo, but he doesn't look like one."

Jzagalos were large, red-furred wildcats that roamed the steppes of Vegeta-sei, they were a known nuisance for attacking Saiyan villages and stealing young cubs that strayed too far. Vegeta's brother Tarble had almost been a victim to such raids when he was little.

Vegeta snorted, "No, he's definitely not a jzagalo. But then what is he?"

Kakarot shrugged, "Whatever he is, he's hurt really bad. We should help him."

He didn't know why, but he wanted to make sure this stranger would be okay. Whether he was friend or foe didn't seem very important as of yet.

The prince rolled his eyes, "Fine, we'll see what we can do. But don't get _attached, _Kakarot. Remember, you're betrothed to Broly, you can't go messing around with strangers you find in the woods."

Kakarot's tail drooped slightly, "I know." He didn't have a choice in who his father had picked for his mate, but he wasn't very fond of Broly. The man was all muscle and no brains; but at least he couldn't tease him about being his elder like Vegeta did, because they were the same age. Born on the same day, even. Still... he wished he had at least had a say in the matter. He wanted to mate with who he _chose_, but that wasn't how Saiyan tradition worked. Especially because Kakarot was a Super Saiyan; it was important that he mated with someone worthy. Vegeta had been a candidate, but his father had picked Broly because of his age and because of a grudge between Bardock's and Paragus's families. The arranged mating was more of a peace treaty than anything else, and Kakarot didn't like that. It made him feel like he was just a possession that could be bartered and controlled. It killed his sense of free will.

"Come on," Vegeta hooked an arm under the strange person's bulky shoulder, gesturing for Kakarot to do the same with the other side. They supported the unconscious person between them and made their way back to the royal city, "Let's get this guy to the healers, they'll do what they can."

X

Goku woke in pain. Everything hurt, but the worst ache seemed to be in the front of his forehead where he'd likely hit it on something extremely hard. He opened his eyes painfully, squinting past his bangs at the unfamiliar scenery. _Where am I?_

He'd retained his Super Saiyan Four form, and he wondered how he'd managed to do that when he'd been knocked unconscious by... something...

_Gods, what a stupid mistake that was._ He thought ruefully. He had never, _ever_ raised his power that high. The strain must have caused him to pass out or something.

He realized he didn't recognize the room he was in at all. He was lying on a bed near the window, which was curtained with wine-colored drapes. The room itself was the color of terracotta, with an almost cave-like feel to it. An animal skin rug on the floor drew his attention. Whatever animal it was, it had had dark red fur, and it had been enormous. Slowly, the confused Saiyan sat up, wincing. He smelled like herbs, and he noticed bandages covering various appendages, a large one on his shoulder almost totally soaked through with blood despite the bandages being fresh.

He tried to get unsteadily to his feet, bracing his weight against the metal bed frame, and managed to stagger a step before collapsing to one knee. He didn't need bandages, what he needed was a senzu. But since he had no idea where he was or how he'd gotten here, first he needed to get out. Exhaling slowly, he tried to stand up again. This time he got two or three steps in before his legs gave out, and he fell hard, unable to catch himself and falling on his face with a frustrated growl, squeezing his eyes shut to block out the pain resonating through him.

He heard footsteps and felt a ki signature approaching, one he didn't recognize. His mind was pretty muddled right now though, so he wasn't surprised. He doubted he'd recognize _anyone's_ ki right now.

Then he heard laughter. The sound was very familiar for some reason, and he tried to raise his head, gritting his teeth in pain.

"You're brave," a cheerful voice said, "Trying to walk with those injuries."

Goku's vision flickered. The voice had sounded blurred, and everything was wavering. He knew he was about to pass out again, likely from pain, and he tried to hold onto his dwindling consciousness, not wanting to be vulnerable in a strange place with a strange person he didn't know.

"Up you get," the voice said, and a person was lifting him, supporting him over whoever it was's shoulder. He felt himself being guided and laid back in the bed he'd awoken in. He couldn't protest, in fact he could barely keep his eyes open. But he wanted to know who his rescuer was. He wanted to know if he should be thankful or fearful.

He forced his blurry vision to focus on the person before him. Blonde, spiky hair, green eyes, pale skin. A long golden tail. Suddenly the familiarity of the face dawned on him, and he lost the battle to keep conscious when he fainted out of shock.

X

Kakarot smiled and shook his head slowly in amazement. It had hardly been a day, and the strange person had already recovered enough to try to walk. Not that he'd been successful, but still, his determination was admirable. Despite himself, Kakarot was growing to like this person. He liked the way he looked; foreign, wild, yet somehow familiar in some distant way. And he especially liked his eyes. Even clouded with a haze of confusion, exhaustion, and painkiller drugs, they were a beautiful hue of gold, and they were rimmed by red around his eyelids, shadowed by an intense brow. In a word, this stranger was fascinating. He wanted to know more about him. He wanted to hear him speak, wanted to see him recover so he could glimpse the lithe grace of movement promised by the person's sleek muscles.

But he remembered Vegeta's warning. _Don't get attached._ He could help this person recover, but he shouldn't get too close to him. Vegeta was right, much as Kakarot didn't want to admit it. He _wanted_ to get to know this person, but he shouldn't.

He sat on the edge of the medical cot thoughtfully, resting his chin in his hands, elbows on his knees. He only had a few more months of relative freedom before he would be mated to Broly on his – actually, _their_ - twenty-third birthday. He wasn't looking forward to that day. And he most certainly was not looking forward to yielding to that brute Broly, since he most certainly wouldn't be allowed the dominant position in whatever awkward relationship they struck. His low status and slighter size would guarantee that much. Super Saiyan counted for nothing. Broly was one too.

He heard a knock on the door, and looked up to see his brother Radditz step in, glancing around before his eyes fell on the pair on the bed.

"I heard what happened," he said, nodding to the once-again-unconscious form lying on the bed, "Why did you want to help him? You don't even know him."

Kakarot shrugged, "It seemed like the right thing to do. You and Dad are always telling me to trust my gut, and my gut said to help this guy."

It was true, his brother and father were constantly reminding him to think before acting. He tended to, as they put it, "jump in with both feet" in just about every situation. And his exuberance had come back to bite him in the backside many times. But he didn't see how it could do that in this situation. He wasn't doing anything wrong, and he _had_ thought this through before acting... sort of. If Vegeta was okay with it, it must be alright. The prince's judgment was unquestionable.

Radditz grinned, his long dark hair rippling as he tilted his head, scrutinizing the unconscious person, "He's a looker, I'll give him that. Whoever he is."

A growl rumbled in Kakarot's throat, and he blinked, startled. He wasn't sure why he'd made that almost _possessive_ sound. He wasn't... _possessive_ of this stranger, was he? He couldn't be _jealous_ of Radditz, that was ridiculous.

But that didn't change the fact that when Radditz had commented on the stranger's appearance, Kakarot's first thought had been; _You won't touch him, he's mine!_

TBC

_(( Only my second KakaKu fanfic. This one of course will be a lot longer than Vertigo. I'm pretty proud of it. We'll get into some Kakarot/Goku interaction in the next chapter!_

_Thank you, readers, for your patience and support, as always._

_-Shinsun))_


	2. Chapter 2

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 2

The stranger awoke again the next morning. Kakarot had stayed in the room that night, not bothering to leave in case his injured guest needed something. He'd been sitting in a chair across the room, and when the stranger's golden eyes snapped open, Kakarot had already been watching him for several minutes, thinking.

He was about to say something, but before he could, the strange person sat up so fast that it surely must have made him dizzy, his brass-colored eyes darting frantically before landing on Kakarot. His dark eyebrows furrowed slightly in either confusion or skepticism.

"You're awake!" Kakarot said without thinking, stating the obvious.

The stranger blinked, his eyes very wide, showing off the rings of crimson skin around his eyelids.

"I seriously doubt that..." he said eventually, "It feels like I'm dreaming."

A shiver ran down Kakarot's spine, all the way to the last vertebra of his tail. Gods, he _loved_ this person's voice. Whatever he'd imagined beforehand, it wasn't the rich, colorful baritone that issued from the person's mouth. The voice had a timbre that sounded familiar somehow, but in all it was a beautiful sound.

The person was still staring at Kakarot, as if unable to believe what he was seeing. His long, red tail was flicking slowly in apparent confusion, and a hint of distrust was evident on his face.

"My name's Kakarot," Kakarot said, studying the person's face carefully, "Who are you?"

"You're..." the person began, trailing off in disbelief, "But... you can't be..."

Kakarot tilted his head a little, standing up and walking over to the cot on which the stranger sat. Slowly, he sat down on the edge of the bed, a good four or five feet between them; trying to read the person's intentions in his golden gaze.

"What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." He ignored that the person hadn't told him who he was; he could be patient.

There was a long moment of silence in which the stranger's expression changed interestingly several times. It was amazing how expressive those gilded eyes could be, and despite the person's visage being fierce and feral in all respects, the way he bit his lip when he was thinking was simply adorable. Kakarot waited with fascinated forbearance, feeling he could honestly watch the person's face for an eternity and never grow bored.

"Where am I?" the stranger asked after a while, meeting Kakarot's gaze warily.

Kakarot wasn't sure what exactly he meant by where. What building? What city? What country?

"You're in the royal city, south of the palace. This is my house, if you wanted to know."

The person shook his head frustratedly, his long black bangs tumbling down over his forehead.

"That doesn't help. _Where?_ As in..." he broke off.

"What planet?" Kakarot supplied, "You're on Vegeta-sei in the west galaxy. Sidor star system."

The stranger's eyes widened further, and he stammered something before falling into a shocked silence.

"But..." he said softly, "Vegeta said the planet was destroyed,"

Kakarot perked with interest, "You know Vegeta?" He should have guessed. Who _didn't_ know Vegeta?

The person's tail thrashed in what could have been anxiety. Kakarot followed the appendage's progress; then the person's last statement registered and something occurred to him.

"Are you Saiyan?" he asked. He had assumed he wasn't. What kind of Saiyan had red fur? Or any fur, for that matter? Maybe he was some kind of hybrid?

The person blinked slowly, as if contemplating an answer.

"Yes, I am." he said after a moment.

"What's your name?" maybe he'd actually get an answer this time.

"Goku," the person said, "But the name I was born with was..." he fell silent quite suddenly.

"What?" Kakarot pried, trying to meet the person named Goku's eyes.

Gold eyes met green, and the person said one word so quietly it was barely a whisper.

"Kakarot."

X

Maybe he shouldn't have said that. Goku watched as Kakarot's green eyes widened to such a degree that they almost fell out of his head. He didn't know how this situation was possible, but he had probably just complicated matters greatly. He was still extremely confused. How did planet Vegeta-sei still exist? Vegeta had said it had been blown to bits by Frieza _decades_ ago. And how in the galaxies was he having a conversation with... himself? A much younger version of himself, admittedly, he could tell that much in the smoothness of Kakarot's skin and the innocence of his emerald eyes. The lack of experience in Kakarot's gaze spoke of his youth; he hadn't seen and experienced any of what Goku had. Not even close.

But then... did that make them the same person? Or did Kakarot simply share his birth-name and appearance? There was only one way he'd know if Kakarot _was_ him. He couldn't very well just ask, the question would seem ludicrous.

While the blonde Saiyan reeled, Goku closed his eyes and carefully extended his senses, attempting to read Kakarot's mind. It shouldn't be hard, since they were so similar, but he had rarely examined another's thoughts from a distance, usually he had to be in contact with the person or – like with Buu – literally _in_ their head.

Kakarot's thoughts poured into him. The disbelief radiating from him at the revelation he'd just undergone was discarded, and Goku felt for his memories. They were very different from Goku's own. This Kakarot had never been to Earth, probably never even heard of it. He'd known prince Vegeta much of his life, since he was a very young child... and his family was still intact.

Goku's eyes flew open at the realization. They _were_ the same person. Kakarot's father was Bardock, his brother was Radditz... he'd been born of the same day as Broly, just like Goku had been. Other memories flooded in, proving the two different people to actually be one. Third-class soldier, Super Saiyan, even many of his values were the same. His likes and dislikes, his morals, his secret desires and guilty pleasures, his love of freedom and life, his ideals of justice and fairness, the little quirks and attributes that made up his personality.

While their _histories_ were very different, their identities were the same.

How it was possible, Goku didn't have a clue.

"Y.._you're_ Kakarot?" the blonde asked in obvious confusion.

Goku allowed himself to smile, "No," he said, shaking his head, "You're Kakarot. I'm Goku. But somehow we just happen to be the same person."

This seemed to confuse the younger Saiyan even more.

"But... you don't even _look _ like me," he said.

Goku smirked, this could be interesting.

"Wanna bet?" he asked, lowering his power. Red fur receded, as did long black hair. He stopped when he reached his normal state, then, with a grunt of effort, snapped to level one of Super Saiyan.

There was a short eternity of silence. Two blonde Saiyans sat across from each other, green eyes looking into green eyes in a silent exchange of information, golden tails flicking in unison. The only differences between the two now were the bandages and various injuries marring Goku's body, the variance of clothing, and the weight of experience and knowledge that would forever set them apart.

"How did you do that?" Kakarot asked eventually.

Goku shrugged, wincing as his wounded shoulder throbbed in protest, "I just lowered my power."

"How? You're either Super Saiyan or you aren't. You can't _change_ it."

Goku sighed and changed back to his fourth form, his red coat sprouting again and hair turning back to black and shaggy. He liked this form best, and judging from the spark of relief in Kakarot's eyes, he did too.

"Sure you can," Goku said, "What, you mean to say you're a Super Saiyan _all _the time?"

"Well... yeah..." Kakarot said, "Since I was five, I've always been like this." He paused and his verdant gaze swept over Goku, as if studying him, "Why do you look... like that?" he asked eventually, "The fur and everything?"

"This is level four of Super Saiyan," Goku explained. The form didn't require as much energy for him to reach anymore, so it had all but become his natural state. Even when he was unconscious, he'd stayed at level four.

"Level four?" Kakarot queried, "There's more than one?"

Goku nodded, but his thoughts had wandered. Something was still bothering him about this situation. How exactly had he _gotten _here?

"How..." he began, "I mean... why am I here?"

Kakarot blinked, as if returning from being lost in thought, "I found you in the woods, unconscious on a tree branch. You were taken to the healers and patched up, and then I brought you here to rest."

Goku tried to think back. He didn't remember that, but he'd been unconscious so he wasn't surprised... what had happened _before _that? He strained to remember, and was surprised when he couldn't. He'd just woken up in this room. Nothing came before that except... being on Earth like he usually was. That was just weird on many levels.

And another thought dawned on him. Shouldn't he try to go _back?_ But... wait... if Vegeta-sei still existed and everything was different here... wouldn't everything be even _more_ different on Earth? Or, another unsettling thought, what if Earth didn't even exist?

X

Kakarot thought over what he'd been told as he glanced at the furred Saiyan sitting next to him on the bed. Apparently this person's name was Goku, and somehow he _was_ Kakarot, but he was different and he wasn't from here... it was too confusing.

Still, even though he'd been told he and Goku were the same person, he still found this familiar stranger fascinating. Still found the glint of his golden eyes beautiful, the ripple of sleek muscle riveting. In other words, he still found Goku appealing, even if he was him.

It was a strange thought to ponder. That he could be so intrigued... no, that wasn't the right word... _attracted_... to himself. There was just something about Goku. Something about the way he looked at him; friendly and empathetic, though still tinted with subtle wariness. As if he knew exactly what Kakarot thought and felt and yet was unsure about him.

Kakarot met Goku's gaze again, trying to think of something to say. He felt like he could get lost in those endless amber eyes, the dark bangs that fluttered slightly as Goku shifted his weight, the flash of teeth past lips that looked like they should be amazingly soft.

The depthless stare was only broken as Goku blinked slowly, baring bright red eyelids in the moment those golden eyes closed. Kakarot didn't think. He just leaned forward, closing the space between them, and claimed the other Saiyan's lips, trembling at the tentative, yet overwhelming contact. He had never kissed anyone before, and he would never have guessed his first kiss would be with _himself._

He was amazed that Goku didn't push him away, didn't break the kiss. There was something magical about it; soft, warm lips moving against his own, eyelashes brushing against his cheeks, a large, but gentle hand reaching up to thread through his hair.

A quiet sound escaped Goku's lips and he pressed their mouths more fully together; Kakarot gasped at the sensation, instinctively parting his lips to a questing tongue. The hot, wet muscle dove in without hesitation, and Kakarot heard a soft moan. It took him a moment to realize it had come from his own throat. Goku's hand, still stroking his hair, wandered down to trace his jawline, a strangely intimate gesture that made Kakarot pause.

"Wait... wait..." he stammered, breaking the kiss and looking into bright yellow eyes, "Why... what are you...?" He wasn't entirely sure what he wanted to ask, and his lips already mourned the loss of contact with the other's.

"You kissed me," Goku said simply, "So I kissed you back."

"Why?" Kakarot asked, tempted to just forget the questions and resume what he'd been doing.

Goku shrugged his furry shoulders, "Why not?"

_Because I'm promised to another..._ Kakarot thought, ..._because I'm betrothed to Broly..._

But he didn't say these things. He wanted... Hell, he didn't know what he wanted.

"Do you want me to stop?" Goku inquired, his gorgeous gold eyes honest.

Kakarot debated within himself. He didn't know why the other Saiyan wasn't refusing... he didn't know why his body _wanted_ more of that contact... he didn't know why he couldn't make himself say yes and walk away...

"No," he breathed. At least that, in itself, was the truth. Much as his conscience and the memory of his father and brother's cautioning words warned him that this was blatant insubordination, he didn't want this beautiful creature that was himself to stop.

Goku's dark eyebrows nearly met in a look of concern, likely reading the conflict in his younger self's gaze. Eventually he just smiled in a heart-stoppingly handsome manner and enveloped his lips over Kakarot's again.

Kakarot felt himself melt. The taste of the other's lips – while perfectly his own, of course – was addicting; sweet and wild and forbidden all at once. His hand gripped Goku's furred shoulder of its own accord, attempting to draw him closer. Goku complied without a word, his broad chest almost touching Kakarot's as the pressure of his mouth on his became almost unbearable. The agile tongue that had teased him before delved in deep, stroking along his own.

It was all too much. Kakarot felt he was suffering from sensory overload, and he felt the heat flaring in his loins become an ache. The scent of arousal filled the air, and Kakarot realized it wasn't all coming from him.

The beautiful wild being shifted, rising onto his knees and using the height advantage to kiss Kakarot harder, almost bending the blonde Saiyan backwards. Gravity won out and Kakarot collapsed on his back on the bed; refusing to lose that contact, however, and pulling Goku down with him. The furred Saiyan sprawled across his waist, kneeling between his thighs and slipping his tongue inside again.

He felt the stirring of the other's arousal against his stomach, and he had to wonder - with what could have been a twinge of foreboding - how far Goku would go with this.

X

Regret was something Son Goku never admitted to having. And as he kissed the blonde version of himself, it was no different. Whatever consequences that resulted were irrelevant. All that mattered was the lithe, warm body pressed close to his, the taste of another's lips on his, even though they were the same. His injuries had stopped paining him, the ache utterly washed away by the sensations being ignited in him by this younger version of himself. It had been so long since he'd kissed anyone. Since ChiChi had passed away eight years ago, he'd been so alone. It had been so long since he'd held someone, since someone had touched him like Kakarot was touching him. It had been so long since he'd...

The thought cut itself short as sanity dawned on him. He faltered. Was he really considering... doing _that_ with himself? He'd only ever had sex with his wife, and the thought of... but still...

He couldn't answer the questions running through his head. All he knew was that he was here, and Kakarot was kissing him, and the smell of arousal was goading him on. But... there was just something holding him back.

"Kakarot," he murmured, kissing the other briefly before breaking away, meeting his twin's desire-hazed green eyes below him.

"Hmm?" Kakarot asked, attempting to connect their mouths again, but Goku stopped him by sitting back slightly.

"Do you... do you want this?" he asked carefully, forcing his awakening lust not to interfere with the question. He had to know...

A shadow came over Kakarot's gaze, maybe doubt, but it was gone before Goku had a chance to study it.

"Yes," Kakarot said, "Yes, I want this."

"Do you know what I'm asking?" Goku pressed stubbornly. Much as he wanted to throw aside his inhibitions and take the other right then and there, he had to be sure of this.

Kakarot nodded twice, "I want you..."

Goku blinked, "But I_ am_ you."

"I know," Kakarot conceded impatiently, "But I don't care. I want... I need..."

Goku thought for a moment, deciding there was no real reason why not.

"Alright," he said softly, "If you're sure."

The flash of conviction in the blonde Saiyan's gaze was an answer of its own.

He kissed his counterpart again, enjoying the long moan that he elicited from Kakarot's throat. Shedding the last of his uncertainty, he allowed his previously innocuous touches to become more suggestive, wrapping his tail around a supple thigh, stroking a feathering hand down the younger Saiyan's chest through the thin material of his shirt. Kakarot's head tipped back slightly as he gulped air, and Goku took the unintended offer to kiss and lick down his bared throat, nuzzling the sensitive skin of the blonde's jugular. Something was bothering Goku though, something in the back of his mind that just wouldn't shut up no matter how many times he tried to quiet it. It was about the memories he'd looked at when he'd initially told Kakarot who he was. Something that was missing.

It clicked suddenly, and Goku stopped and looked into the younger Saiyan's eyes for a long moment.

"What?" Kakarot asked breathlessly.

Goku's eyebrows lowered just a fraction, "Kakarot are you... are you a virgin?"

There was that shadow of doubt again, but it dissipated after a moment.

"Yes," Kakarot said quietly, almost embarrassedly.

"And you want..." he wasn't sure how to phrase the question so it wasn't offensive to both of them, after all, they were the same person; "And you want your first time to be with... yourself?"

"No," Kakarot said shortly, "I want my first time to be with _you."_

Goku was about to protest, but the other's position was pretty clear. Why Kakarot so desired him, he wasn't sure, but he'd be lying to say the feeling wasn't mutual. Strange though it was, he was in fact attracted to himself. _I guess that makes me a narcissist..._

But it didn't seem important. None of it seemed important. Though they had just met not half an hour ago, there was an understanding between the two. They had no need to apologize or wonder in each other's presence, for they were one and the same. The same fantasies, the same desires, the same boundless _want._

Goku smirked. Kakarot may be a virgin, but he wouldn't be one for long.

X

Kakarot shivered as Goku slowly removed his shirt, smoothing his palms over Kakarot's quivering chest as he did. No one had ever touched him like this, no one had ever made him feel like this. No one had ever...

Kakarot arched off the mattress with a groan as Goku's tail brushed slowly over his aching erection through his black spandex leggings. The vocalization earned him a repetition of the action, this time more lingering, and he fell back, panting for air as Goku leaned over him again. Long satin bangs drooped in his face as his older self ducked in to kiss him thrillingly, nimble fingers landing on the waistband of his leggings tantalizingly, teasing the sensitive skin of his hips. The thick red tail that had tormented his arousal moved away, and he moaned a protest, quickly silenced as Goku's soft lips closed over his again.

"Please," he whimpered, losing his fingers in a thick mane of black hair above him, "Please..."

"Please what?" Goku asked sensuously. A tremor skittered down Kakarot's body at the sound, his cock jumping slightly. That rich, purring voice was simply amazing, the silk of the other's hair between his fingers indescribable.

"Touch me," he pleaded, running his tail along a furred flank.

And Goku did. The hand that had been teasing his waist wrapped around Kakarot's straining erection, squeezing lightly through the spandex.

Kakarot's breath choked off and he arched against the touch desperately, tangling his fingers in Goku's hair.

He could feel his tight pants being lowered a few inches, and he felt the heat of the other Saiyan's mouth exploring the skin of his inner thighs. One cherishing hand slipped behind his knee, and Goku gradually removed one of his training boots, letting it fall to the floor before taking off the other, which joined it. The spandex leggings were the next to go, and they took a short flight to the ground once freed from his skin.

Kakarot felt the contact of warm hands vanish for a moment, and heard the muted sound of shoes hitting the floor as Goku removed his own, then the whisper of fabric against fur. He inhaled sharply in a gasp as Goku straddled his legs to kiss him again. The bare contact of sweltering skin, the brush of sweat-soaked fur, the abrasion of bandages here and there that hadn't been removed; the full length of another's hardened member – though identical to his own, obviously – pressed agonizingly against his. Goku's long hair swept across his chest as he closed his lips over Kakarot's, thrusting inside with his tongue and crushing their mouths together.

Kakarot almost protested as Goku's mouth left his for a moment.

"Do you have..." the furred Saiyan began, breathing hard, "...lubricant... something..."

"On the table," Kakarot panted, "massage oil."

He felt the other Saiyan get up and stifled an objection. Though it was mere moments before Goku returned, it felt like much too long.

Goku's apology for leaving - even briefly – took the form of a lingering kiss, and Kakarot moaned his forgiveness into his counterpart's mouth.

A slick finger slid from the inside of Kakarot's thigh to trace his entrance slowly, circling unhurriedly to accustom him to the sensation. Kakarot shifted in slight discomfort, he'd never been touched there before, but the soothing circles of the oiled finger and the sweet warmth of lips on his eventually relaxed him.

Goku broke away once again, concern sparking in gilded eyes, "Are you sure you...?" he began.

Kakarot fought the urge to roll his eyes, "Yes! I'm sure," he said quickly.

"But -" Goku said.

"_Please,_" Kakarot implored.

He could still feel the other's hesitation, but the circling of his entrance resumed after a moment. He hissed a breath as one lubricated finger invaded him, then two. Both moved for a moment before a third was added, stretching him gradually.

Kakarot drove against the wandering fingers with a groan as they pressed against something that sent waves of pleasure throughout his entire body. His tail flicked Goku in the face – causing one gold eye to squint shut as the older Saiyan smirked – and the action was repeated, sending another bolt of pleasure through Kakarot that left him gasping for breath. Then the fingers withdrew, and Kakarot moaned a protest, feeling empty... needing...

Goku nipped the end of his tail and he yelped, startled pleasure zinging up his spine at the odd sensation. Then he threw his head back with a shout as the tip of Goku's slicked erection pressed into him slowly. He felt a thick tail coiling around his own cock as Goku began to stroke him even as he filled him gradually. Kakarot pleaded something incoherent, overloading on contact, desperate for...

He cried out as Goku thrust once, striking that amazing spot inside that made his blood roar in his ears with the intensive pleasure. The other Saiyan grunted and thrust again, a jagged breath escaping him as he leaned up to capture Kakarot's lips again.

Kakarot braced his hands against the other's furred shoulders, matching each thrust, never wanting it to end. A pressure was building in him as Goku's pace increased, his vision flickering white every time he hit home... he needed... something...

He screamed as his orgasm crashed over him suddenly, and he heard the shuddering moan Goku released as he came as well. Every muscle locked as the utter nirvana ripped through him again and again, and while both a second and an eternity in one, the moment was heaven, pure and simple.

Goku's red-furred arms shook, as if they were having a hard time supporting his weight, and he slid out of Kakarot's heat gently, collapsing next to him, his chest heaving for breath.

Kakarot lay there for a while, every inch of his skin glistening with sweat, as he tried to slow his racing heart and steady his breathing. He smelled blood, and he suspected some of Goku's wounds had reopened with the strain. With that thought, reality hit him hard, like a punch to the gut.

He was betrothed. And he had all but committed a felony in sleeping with another when he was promised to be mated.

Still... he had never experienced anything like that before. He glanced at the other Saiyan beside him, eyes closed, kiss-swollen lips parted slightly as he panted for air... and he couldn't deny the ever-present attraction that rose in him. In fact it may have gotten stronger.

And he wanted...

Again, he wasn't sure precisely what he wanted, but the feral Saiyan next to him was high on the list. He wanted to do this again. And again. As many times as he could. He wanted to kiss his older self, and see him smile again, and hold him and be held... forever.

His eyes slipped closed as a revelation dawned on him. He tried to fight it down, to forbid it to surface and forget it.

But he couldn't let it go. While he was beginning to resent it already, he didn't want to let it go.

He sighed quietly, "I think I'm falling in love with you," he murmured.

He heard Goku's breath hitch beside him, and he felt that beautiful golden gaze on him questioningly.

"Wh..." the older Saiyan began, "What do you...?"

Kakarot let his eyes open slowly and looked up at Goku, who had leaned over him once again. His silken black bangs framing his red-rimmed, bright amber eyes, an expression that fell somewhere between disbelief and awe on his handsome face.

Kakarot leaned up to briefly kiss that slightly ajar mouth. It wasn't a possibility anymore. No, he was certain.

"I'm in love with you." he said softly.

TBC

_((Well... that escalated quickly... maybe too quickly. This was a **really** long chapter, over 4,000 words, and if it still seems a little rushed, I'm sorry._

_Thanks, as always, for reading and for your support._

_-Shinsun))_


	3. Chapter 3

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 3

No one could know about this. Kakarot had reminded himself this fact multiple times even as he fell harder for Goku with each day. The time he spent in the furred Saiyan's presence was some of the happiest time of his life, even if it was passed entirely in secret. Not even Radditz or Vegeta could know about this. Especially not Radditz. If word found its way to his father that his youngest son was breaking one of the sacred laws of mating by being with another when he was betrothed... he didn't want to think about it.

Kakarot scowled. He wasn't mated _yet._ And though the day when he turned twenty-three and was bound to Broly for life drew ever closer, the spark of passion that had been lit between he and his selfsame counterpart did not diminish.

As Goku's injuries healed, he eventually began to explore the city, seeming fascinated by the Saiyans' way of living. Even just the simple things; like the fact that none of the windows had glass except in the palace, or that a typical Saiyan greeting was ramming their fists together, or, for some more exuberant individuals, a hearty headbutt. Kakarot was eager to show his company everything about the world he'd never seen, trying to imagine what it would be like to grow up on a different planet than home. He'd been to other worlds of course, on scouting and battle missions, but he couldn't picture _living_ on one of those foreign planets.

Goku kept up an almost constant stream of questions, asking for explanation of elementary concepts and pointing out little things he'd apparently never seen before. And as Kakarot gave him a thorough tour of the city, so he also gradually sated his own craving to know more about Goku. With every answer he gave he gained knowledge of the other's experiences, as Goku compared this world to the one he'd known.

It was hard to hide his desire while in the presence of the object of it. Whenever they passed a deserted alleyway or a conveniently placed tree, Kakarot would pull Goku to his side and kiss him in secret, devouring his mouth hungrily and purring with temporary contentment. Goku was a willing participant, and conceded with the need for secrecy, even if he didn't know why... at least, Kakarot didn't _think_ he knew. He didn't know if he could hide his betrothal from his older counterpart, but he was afraid if he told him, Goku wouldn't be willing to be with him anymore. _I know I can't keep him... but I don't want to lose him, at least not yet. _

The sex was amazing. Kakarot learned pretty early-on that Goku was extremely flexible about who was "on top", and with his injuries and bandages no longer hindering so much of his movement, he was able to show Kakarot some new and engaging positions that were nothing short of incredible. Sometimes he let Kakarot take total control, responding enthusiastically and giving suggestions to further pleasure them both. Other times the red-furred Saiyan was the dominant, pulling multiple screaming orgasms from his blonde partner as he demonstrated _just_ how skilled he could be in the art of pounding someone into a mattress. And while he obligingly smiled and sometimes blushed when Kakarot murmured that he loved him repeatedly, Kakarot noticed he never returned it. He hadn't heard the word "love" from Goku's lips yet, and while the older Saiyan could turn Kakarot's blood to fire with his purred litanies describing precisely how sexy and beautiful the blonde was... Kakarot couldn't help but feel disheartened by the awkward pause whenever he told Goku he loved him, and the furred Saiyan would always change the subject afterwards. He didn't seem disturbed by the fact that Kakarot was essentially admitting to falling in love with himself, but there was something uncomfortable under the surface of his quiet acceptance.

It was rather surprising how quickly their relationship had fallen together. True, Goku was kind of stuck on this planet, having no way back to his own world, but he could have been a lot less willing to give Kakarot what he thrived on now. It had only been a week or two since he'd found the older Saiyan unconscious in the woods, and they acted like they'd been together their whole lives, especially in private when they could indulge more... _intimately_. Kakarot laughed grimly and shook his head at the thought. He was actually amazed Radditz or Vegeta hadn't figured out just how closely the two were involved.

The prince was wary of Goku at first, Kakarot had suspected he would be. But it seemed Goku possessed the same ability as he himself, the ability to penetrate Vegeta's wall of cold-shouldered princely arrogance, and Vegeta had warmed up to him the same way he had with Kakarot, though the blonde Saiyan doubted he knew that Goku _was_ Kakarot.

Radditz was another matter. While his brother didn't appear to have anything against Goku, he just seemed to not trust him. Kakarot thought that if either of the two was going to figure out Goku's true identity and their narcissistic relationship with each other, it would probably be Radditz, if only because the long-haired Saiyan probably wouldn't give up snooping and prying if he found anything suspicious. And that was not a good thing.

X

It was damn strange being in a relationship with himself. Goku didn't think it was awkward or anything; quite the opposite, they knew next to everything about each other, so he was actually much more comfortable around his blonde twin than he was around most anyone else. But... it was just the _awareness_ that every time he looked at Kakarot he was looking at himself, every time he drew a moan or a purr from him he was actually pleasuring himself. Another version of himself admittedly, but there was just something about their arrangement that made Goku nervous. Not always nervous in a bad way, but nervous nonetheless.

And Kakarot had said he was falling in love with him. He wasn't sure how to react to this. Can you even fall in love with yourself? Was it even possible? He could easily admit that he was _attracted_ to himself... okay _easily_ wasn't the best description for it. He was _able_ to admit it, anyway. He could let his eyes rove over Kakarot and admire his musculature and the lithe grace of his young body in more than just a comradely way. He could taste the sweat on his skin and kiss the breath out of him without feeling anything but intensive pleasure and lust, and the sex was absolutely fantastic. But love? … He didn't know if he could admit that so willingly, or at all. He knew he was disappointing Kakarot every time he hesitated, unable to bring himself to say it, but he couldn't say the words if he didn't mean them wholeheartedly, and he didn't yet. Maybe he never would.

Still, he gave Kakarot everything he could. He hadn't expected them to grow so close, so intimate, in such a short time, but there was something about knowing each other so wholly and completely that washed away any of the initial doubt and tentativeness that usually preceded a relationship. They didn't have to take it slow or get to know each other, and they could reap the rewards with none of the consequence. There was a very slight bend in what would otherwise be a perfectly mutual exchange, and that was that the emotional factor was so lopsided. Kakarot loved Goku, but he couldn't return that sentiment.

Kakarot though... Well, Kakarot was an enthusiast, both in the sexual side of this and just about everything else. Oh yes, the blonde Saiyan was a very eager partner, his desire utterly bottomless; his innocence both shining forth in his almost naïve belief in romance, and tampered by his methods of sating unchained lust. He was a contradiction, very like Goku himself even in his differences. And he was fascinating.

As Goku learned more and more about the planet he found himself on, he regretted that he'd never seen it before until now. He kept comparing and contrasting it with Earth, and he was no longer sure which he was supposed to consider his home. He was born on Vegeta-sei but raised on Earth... where did he actually belong?

He'd met this planet's prince Vegeta, and he was much the same as the Vegeta he knew back on Earth. He was younger, yes, and much less cold. He was as arrogant as ever though, and while he wasn't a Super Saiyan – _yet_, the prince kept insisting they say he hadn't ascended _yet_ – he sure as hell acted like it.

Radditz was the same as Goku remembered. Distrustful, with a terrible sense of humor – though not as sadistic as Goku had experienced firsthand – and the tendency to talk way too much. Since he wasn't trying to kill Goku, he allowed himself to actually see the long-haired Saiyan as his brother; something he'd never let himself do before. He felt a slight stab of regret as he thought of how he'd killed Radditz and never got to experience the kin relationship that Kakarot and Radditz took for granted.

But the main reason he was reluctant whenever his mind kept reminding him he should be finding a way back to Earth was definitely Kakarot. He hadn't had the companionship and trust that he'd found with his counterpart in a really long time. He'd missed being able to talk to someone, to tell them anything and everything; even just to kiss someone again was amazing relief from the loneliness that had been plaguing him since ChiChi's death.

And, even if he couldn't tell Kakarot the same, just hearing the blonde Saiyan whisper "I love you," over and over was indescribably amazing.

X

"Nngh... ah..! More, Kakarot!" Goku pleaded through clenched teeth, on his elbows and knees as Kakarot plunged into him again and again, making the fur along his shoulders and lower back fluff out as he laid biting kisses on the long tail repeatedly flicking him in the face. Sweat rolled down Kakarot's forehead, tangling in his blonde bangs and running down his neck and shoulders. He deliberately kept his pace controlled and slow, wanting to hear Goku beg him.

"Kaka..." Goku began in a low groan, knotting his fingers in the sheets around him and trying in vain to increase the contact that Kakarot purposely kept minimal, "Damn it..."

Kakarot ran his fingers gently through the lush fur swathed across his partner's spine, all but petting him, and a deep purr rumbled from the older Saiyan's chest, the sound slightly jaded by frustration.

Leaning across Goku's back, Kakarot nipped at his hair before murmuring sensuously in his ear, "Tell me... what do you want?" A lick to the soft shell of his counterpart's ear and he withdrew.

"Kakarrrrot..." Goku purred, a plea as well as an answer.

Kakarot smirked, teasing the other's turgid arousal with a light flick of his tail.

Goku gulped for breath, his forehead almost touching the mattress as his back arched like a cat's, his fingers still clenched in the sheets. Kakarot drew back slowly, keeping the head of his cock tantalizingly within his partner. Goku growled in desperation, his eyes squeezed shut.

"_Please_!" he begged.

Satisfaction rushed through Kakarot and he obliged, flipping the furred Saiyan over on his back and sinking in deep, taking possession of Goku's mouth and delving past his lips with his tongue when they opened for him. It only took three frantic thrusts to bring Goku to the edge, and he was tipped over it when Kakarot's hand wrapped around his arousal, his thumb running over the head which was steadily dripping pre-cum. Goku released a ragged shout as he threw his head back, his essence coating Kakarot's hand. The vocalization caused Kakarot's groin to tighten, and his hips thrust once more before his climax roared through him, his mind going completely blank as it did.

X

Kakarot was getting extremely good at that. Goku gasped for breath, on his back, struggling to bring his pulse back to normal. _In fact,_ he thought, _if he got any better at it I'd probably pass out._

Kakarot brought his hand to his mouth and licked his fingers almost distractedly, cleaning Goku's seed from them. Then he lay next to Goku and fixed his green gaze on the ceiling contemplatively.

Goku wondered what he was thinking so hard about. His own breathing was still rough from the recent release and Kakarot's exhaling was audible as well. His blonde eyebrows were furrowed with something that fell between confusion and indecision. Eventually he spoke.

"Why don't you love me?" he asked quietly.

Goku blinked; not at the question, he'd expected to be asked that sooner or later. It was Kakarot's tone of voice. It was forcibly light and casual, as if he were asking about the weather, but beneath that was an undertone that seemed crestfallen and even frustrated.

"I..." Goku began, knowing he had to pick his words wisely, "It's not like I haven't thought about it," he said finally, "I just... I don't think I can yet. I can't say why."

"Yet?" Kakarot asked, sounding slightly hopeful.

"We've only known each other for two weeks," Goku pointed out, "No one can suddenly fall in love that quickly."

"I did," Kakarot murmured, almost too softly to hear.

Goku looked at him, and was surprised to see a depth of guilt there. What did he have to be guilty about?

"It was almost instantaneous," the blonde Saiyan went on, tail flicking slowly, "From the moment you looked at me... I was caught."

The younger Saiyan's sharp verdant eyes landed on his gold ones rather suddenly.

"What have I done that's not enough for you?" he snapped, and Goku heard that frustration again, "I've given you all I've got and I know it's only been two weeks, but I..." he broke off with a sigh, "I hate feeling this way alone."

"Kakarot," Goku said carefully, "Look, it's not that I don't care for you. I do, a lot. I want to stay here with you and never let you go... I love _being_ with you..."

Kakarot broke in, confusion lacing his voice again, "Why did this happen so quickly though? I just... I met you and suddenly wanted to be with you forever..."

Goku started to say something, but he interrupted.

"I'm so confused. I know I love you, I _know_ it. But... you... you're _me,_ I... I'm not supposed to... to fall for you."

Goku thought for a moment before saying quietly, "Where is that rule written?"

Kakarot's gaze snapped to his again, "What?"

Goku sat up slowly, looking down at the younger version of himself.

"Where is it written that you can't love yourself?"

"You can," Kakarot muttered, the moment's hopefulness fading from his face to be replaced by dejection, "You can't be _in_ love with yourself."

"Like hell you can't," a familiar voice spoke, and both Kakarot and Goku jumped and whirled around in time to see Vegeta leap lightly off the windowsill and turn to them, crossing his arms over his chest.

X

"V-Vegeta!" Kakarot stammered, shock rushing through him as the prince looked at him with his fiery black eyes, tail swishing at his side.

The prince's gaze shifted to land on Goku, and the furred Saiyan said the exact opposite of what he'd expected him to.

"Gods, Vegeta, would you look away for a second?" he growled. Kakarot was suddenly very conscious that he and Goku were both naked.

A short laugh sounded from the prince, but whether it was mocking or simply amused, Kakarot wasn't sure. Vegeta did not, however, look away as asked.

Goku threw Kakarot's black spandex leggings to him and slipped on his own loose pants, standing up and looking at Vegeta with equal measures of perplexity and defiance.

Kakarot stood as well, but he wasn't sure if his legs would support him. Vegeta was going to accuse him of going against his betrothal to Broly, he just knew it. And then his relationship with Goku – however brief – would be over.

"What did you just say?" Goku said bluntly to Vegeta.

The prince rolled his eyes, "I said '_like hell you can't.'_" he reiterated, coiling his tail around his waist like a belt, Kakarot felt inclined to join him in that, but kept his own furry appendage still.

"Like hell you can't what?" Kakarot asked, his voice coming out like a whimper, much to his dismay.

Vegeta's arms uncrossed themselves as his gaze turned to Kakarot's.

"Like hell you can't be in love with yourself." he said shortly.

Kakarot's breath hitched. Gods, now Vegeta knew he and Goku were the same person. What would he do with this information? Surely not keep it to himself?

"You can be in love with whomever the fuck you want, but whether you _should_ be," the prince continued, "Is another question entirely."

His dark eyes landed on Goku again, "How long were you going to keep that a secret?" he growled.

"Keep what a secret?" Goku asked blankly.

"That you and Kakarot are the same person! You were really just going to keep it silent until someone else figured it out?"

"You knew?" Kakarot breathed.

Vegeta snorted, "'Course I knew. Since I met the idiot, I knew who he was. You, Kakarot, are unlike anybody else in the universe – and no, I'm not complimenting you, there's no need to look proud, - so the only way this furry excuse for a Saiyan could be _exactly like you_ was if you and he were one and the same." His eyes roved over Goku's chest, where Kakarot had left marks with his teeth and nails when he'd ravished him, "However," the prince muttered, "I did not expect _this._"

"Please don't tell Father," Kakarot implored, tail lashing with anxiety, "He'll... I.. I can't... I _won't..._"

Vegeta interrupted his babbling with a decisive slash of his chestnut tail, "Calm yourself, I'm not about to go running to Bardock with a story about the planet's most intensive masturbation scandal," Goku's face was crossed with offense when he said this, and Kakarot assumed his had done the same.

"But," Vegeta leaned close to Kakarot so that he could look piercingly into his eyes, "If I were you, Kakarot, I'd cut off the loose ends before you get tangled in something ugly."

Kakarot swallowed hard. He knew Vegeta was referring to his arranged mating with Broly. He was only glad the prince hadn't said it outright.

"You two want to fuck each other's brains out until someone besides me – aren't I so graciously forgiving? - puts two and two together and forces you apart anyway? Go ahead. But I think something as personal as _love_ shouldn't be wasted on your own self," his gaze snapped to Goku for a moment before returning to Kakarot, "That's what jerking off is for."

And with that, the prince left the way he'd came – through the window – leaving both versions of the same person seriously questioning in their minds whether he was friend or foe.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 4

_Those idiots,_ Vegeta thought heatedly as he flew further away from Kakarot's house, _One or both of them is going to be seriously hurt by this, it's only a matter of time._

He had barely believed his ears when he'd heard Kakarot ask Goku why he didn't love him, and heard the other Saiyan try to reassure him that it was still possible, if not immediate. Eavesdropping wasn't something he usually stooped to, but being both intrigued and horrified, he couldn't stop himself from listening to the entire conversation, and then intervening.

He'd _warned _him. He'd _told_ Kakarot from the moment he found that furred Saiyan in the woods not to get attached. And this was exactly why he had! Kakarot didn't understand. _Still_ didn't understand. For all his power, he could be damn childish, especially about responsibility and consequence.

Kakarot was just now experiencing what they called the doubt phase of love. He'd already gone through the pleasure phase, which was the easiest one. The light, ecstatic elation of the emotion called love that sucked a person in and made them blind to every other aspect of it. Vegeta winced as he thought of the phase the young Super Saiyan would be forced to go through shortly. He knew why it was called "falling" in love. And Kakarot in particular would fall extremely hard; maybe he wouldn't be able to pick himself back up. It was inevitable. He would be forced to let go of his counterpart in the face of duty, as he had been arranged to be mated to Broly. He had no choice.

Sighing, he admitted mentally that he only thought this way and reacted the way he had because he cared about Kakarot. He didn't want the young Saiyan to get hurt, he didn't want to see him fall. He knew Kakarot hadn't _chosen_ deliberately to fall in love with that Goku; but dammit, he could have tried a lot harder not to!

He should never have left those two alone. He should have seen the look in Kakarot's eye when he first laid eyes on the red-furred version of himself and realized that – promise though he may – he wasn't about to keep his word to not get attached. He should have – he grimaced as the dark thought came to mind, but couldn't force it down... he should have dragged the younger Saiyan away and left Goku to bleed to death.

And strangely, though he'd seen the two completely naked together and knew what had gone on between them... he wasn't all that disturbed about their relationship that was not only homosexual but selfcestual, much as he'd acted like he was. He was actually just angry, and that anger was only a cover for the worry he felt for his friend's future. Nothing good could come of this.

But of course, Kakarot wouldn't listen to reason. His head was up somewhere in the clouds and his body firmly in the possession of his other self. He wasn't going to straighten himself out long enough to listen as Vegeta tried to warn him of the consequences of his actions. Tried to warn him that his heart was going to get stepped on sooner or later... probably sooner, if events transpired the way Vegeta assumed they would.

Also, as far as Vegeta gathered, the love was not requited. Though the exchange itself definitely was mutual, Kakarot's feelings had not been returned, and that would make the eventual day when he was forced to give Goku up much easier for everyone but Kakarot himself. Vegeta felt something twist inside him with pity; knowing Kakarot's innocence and tendency to do nothing halfway, this unavoidable heartbreak was sure to tear him apart.

Vegeta landed on a craggy plateau in the middle of scenic nowhere, fixing his gaze on Vegeta-sei's twin suns until his eyes teared up from the combined brightness of them. Not from sorrow for his friend, he reminded himself. The prince of all Saiyans did many things, but he did not _cry._

Swiping deftly at his eyes, Vegeta allowed himself to think undisturbed for a long stretch of time, wishing there was at least _something_ he could do about this precarious situation. He wasn't accustomed to feeling so powerless.

X

Kakarot sighed. Vegeta's abrupt departure had left the air with ringing silence and tension that could be cut with a knife. Hesitantly, he glanced at his furred counterpart, unsure of Goku's reaction to the prince's accusations and insults.

Goku didn't seem all that fazed, and Kakarot reminded himself that he'd known Vegeta before. He must have known that his words, while biting, usually held a deeper meaning than he let them.

"...Goku?" he asked tentatively, his tail swishing with unease.

His older self shot him a glance through golden eyes, but Kakarot couldn't decipher the emotion behind his gaze.

"What?" Goku asked eventually.

"I... I'm sorry," once the words left his mouth, they just kept pouring out of him, "I sh-shouldn't have pressured you for an answer, I should have just... I should have been happy with what I had, I shouldn't have assumed... shouldn't have pushed you..."

He flinched as the other Saiyan reached out and touched a finger to his lips to silence him.

"Hush." he said shortly, "It's fine. It's not like it would have stayed a secret anyways."

"What happens now?" Kakarot asked once the contact of the finger on his lips was removed.

"Now?" Kakarot blinked at the amused tone of Goku's voice, "Now we're going to get rid of these meddlesome pants and I'm going to slowly turn you inside-out as I pound you into the mattress."

"But Vegeta said -" Kakarot protested.

"To hell with what he said," Goku smirked, tail curling at his side, "It doesn't change anything."

Kakarot wasn't sure if he should feel relieved or guilty by these words. Goku didn't know _why_ Vegeta had been so insistent and harsh. Didn't know _why_ the two of them being involved as they were was so wrong. But... he couldn't tell him. If this brief rift hadn't made the other Saiyan leave him, the knowledge that he was sleeping with someone else's eventual property definitely would.

He felt his companion's brass gaze on him again and he was surprised to see concern in those red-rimmed eyes.

"Is that... is that okay with you?" the furred Saiyan asked uncertainly. Kakarot was sure the conflict must have shown on his face and did his best to banish it from his mind. Much as he knew he should break this off easily while he had the chance, he couldn't bring himself to let go of the other Saiyan.

"More than okay," Kakarot forced conviction into the words and allowed Goku to kiss him deeply, dropping his doubts for now.

X

Goku knew Kakarot was distressed. He didn't have to read his mind to know that. Something about the arrival of Vegeta had shaken him pretty badly, and Goku had to wonder what it was. He didn't pry though, for though they shared nearly everything; Goku had his secrets, and Kakarot had his.

He could tell the other was a little startled by his reply when he'd asked what happened now. True, Goku wasn't usually so forward, and apparently his attempt to get a smirk or a laugh from his counterpart had failed. If anything, he'd made the conflicted look in those green eyes intensify.

Unsure where exactly he'd put a foot wrong in his words, he asked carefully if Kakarot was okay with this. There was more behind the question that he didn't voice; after all the younger Saiyan had placed his trust, his virginity, and just about every other facet of himself in Goku's hands in a very short amount of time. He could understand if it was all catching up to Kakarot now, if he even regretted some of it.

But Kakarot simply smiled and the look of consternation was erased as he gave his consent. It was a response that reminded Goku very much of what he would have done. He didn't tend to second-guess or doubt things, usually he just went with it. Another trait the two of them apparently shared.

But still, even as he laid the younger Saiyan on the bed and captured his lips in a slow kiss, he couldn't help but think that whatever had caused that conflicted look in Kakarot's eyes was only being covered, not fixed.

X

Vegeta lay in his bed, his eyes fixed on the ceiling above him. The royal mattress was soft and comfortable and his mind and body were begging him to slip into sleep and forget about this mess, but he wouldn't let the issue quiet itself. Kakarot and Goku were both damn lucky that it had been Vegeta who had found them out and not Radditz. The long-haired soldier couldn't keep a secret at arm's length if his life depended on it. If it had been Radditz who had discovered the two selfsame Saiyans' relationship with each other; well, it would have taken all of two minutes for the whole royal city, and then the whole planet, to know every little detail about it.

_What am I going to do to ensure that doesn't happen?_ Much as he prayed Kakarot would get some sense slapped into him soon and take his advice before the matter got infinitely more complicated; if he couldn't convince them to split up, he'd have to make sure they stayed together. A slightly impossible mission, considering it would only be maintainable for about two months. Then Broly would come and demand his conquest and there wouldn't be a damned thing anyone could do. Broly was a rather unstoppable force, and the laws of Saiyan mating were absolute.

But, Vegeta wanted Kakarot to be happy, at least while he could be. Kakarot had made his choice, for now, and while the young warrior may be naïve and foolish in many infuriating ways, he was Vegeta's friend, and Vegeta wouldn't change that because of who he loved.

It seemed the real enemy here was Broly, but it was an enemy none of them could fight. Not for lack of strength, considering both Kakarot and Goku were Super Saiyan... and beyond. No, they had an abundance of strength, that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the law was on Broly's side, and both Saiyans would undoubtedly be punished for their crime. … And anyone else who supported them, Vegeta mused, but he couldn't back out now. Either way, in keeping the Saiyans' secret for them, Vegeta was committing insubordination, and if he was going to do anything, he should give it his all. Though his royal blood protected him from severe retribution, he was sure he'd be made to suffer for this as well if his hand in the matter was found out. _No, I'm definitely not the one at risk here. Kakarot may be spared the worst of the punishment because of his heritage and his being a native Super Saiyan, but Goku will be tortured or even killed for this. Of that I'm sure._

Well then, his path from here was clear. Vegeta would just have to make sure no one else knew of the two Saiyans' intimacy. Yes, he'd have to be sure no one had the slightest inkling that the pair of remarkably similar – aside from appearance - Saiyans were anything but comradely associates.

If he played his cards right, Vegeta could prevent some very serious consequences from coming in contact with his friends – he was a little alarmed at thinking of Goku as his friend as well... but not necessarily surprised – however, he reminded himself sternly, there was no way he could prevent the overall outcome of this situation. Which meant that no matter what he did to keep the two Saiyans together, they would inevitably end up apart.

TBC

_((This seemed angsty, short and unclear with very little dialogue. At least Vegeta's perspective came into light there, though he's been thrown rather out of character (but what else is new, this is me we're talking about). This fic is gonna get serious pretty soon, but for now, I'll let these two narcissistic Saiyans be happy for a while._

_Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing, and I'm sorry this chapter wasn't very long or exciting, it's past 2 in the morning and I must sleep now._

_-Shinsun))_


	5. Chapter 5

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 5

_((Okay, there's going to be a new pairing introduced here upon request (for you, MegaKat, who asked that I make Radditz a whore), just letting you know. I'm not going to go into too much detail but if you don't like the idea just skip over it. Just know there will be some mentions of Radditz/Vegeta in here. I do have a reason for this, and it's not just an excuse to hook Vegeta up with someone, it is part of the plot... he has a plan to keep Radditz quiet...))_

Something was up. Radditz blew his hair out of his eyes irritably and sat on a toppled over tree limb, crossing one leg over the other and flicking his tail in thought. His brother was acting different, talking different, vanishing without explanation on occasion and giving evasive replies when asked about it. And Kakarot wasn't the only one acting strange... Vegeta was too. The prince was actually being _polite_ when he spoke, and there seemed to be something bothering him... bothering both of them. It must have had something to do with that stranger Goku showing up, everything was normal until he came along.

But why hadn't Kakarot told him about it? It was unusual for his brother to be secretive, especially around his older sibling, whom he would tell just about anything to. All he knew was that Kakarot was being jumpy, flinching when someone addressed him in conversation and avoiding the people he used to spend most of his time around. Yes, it must be that Goku... but what about him? And why was everyone keeping Radditz in the dark about this?

True, Radditz wasn't really known for being good at keeping secrets, but if it concerned his brother, he would want to help. Didn't Kakarot _want_ his help? With every other problem the younger Saiyan had come in contact with, he had asked his brother's advice... why not now?

Sighing, Radditz stood and took to the air. The only way he'd know what was up with Kakarot would be if he asked him directly, but every time he'd asked, Kakarot had completely avoided the question.

He landed in front of Kakarot's door and raised a hand to knock when he was interrupted by a voice behind him.

"A little late to be out and about, isn't it?"

Radditz turned to see his prince fixing him with an expression that was extremely hard to describe. Something like accusation and light inquiry mixed with indecision and reluctance. Vegeta had his tail curled defensively around his waist, but he had braced one hand on one hip in an attempt at appearing casual, his eyes were dishonest, and they darted like a cornered animal's.

_Case in point,_ Radditz thought in confusion, _Both he and Kakarot are behaving strangely._

"A little late, perhaps. What do you wish of me, Highness?" he asked carefully, appealing to Vegeta's princely side in an attempt to get him to lower his guard.

It didn't work; if anything, Vegeta's nervous, distrustful expression became more pronounced.

"A word, please," the prince said swiftly, turning and walking away, making a gesture for Radditz to follow over his shoulder. Radditz blinked. It was a rare occurrence to hear the word "please" from Vegeta's lips. He followed the prince though, his curiosity piqued.

"As you wish."

X

Kakarot purred in satisfaction as Goku gently kissed down the side of his throat, nuzzling the sensitive skin and brushing his tail along his arms. The two had scarcely been apart since Vegeta had found them out, and rather than heed his warning, if anything they had become even more closely involved, and Kakarot had heard Vegeta mutter to himself about their insatiability more than once. Kakarot himself had instigated much of this more frequent intimacy, feeling he had to squeeze in as much time with his furred counterpart as he could before the day of his arranged mating dawned, enjoying the pleasant period of time for as long as he could. Apparently Goku had no complaints, and Kakarot wondered often why the red-furred Saiyan was so willing in the first place. It was as if he would like nothing more than to spend his time with Kakarot, and he didn't seem the least perturbed by the new exuberance Kakarot presented him with. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it just as much as Kakarot did.

Goku paused in his quiet worship of lips and tongue when the soft sound of lowered voices sounded outside the door. For a moment, the furred Saiyan just looked in the direction of the voices with the air of a predator in a hunting crouch, and then the fur along his shoulders bristled as he tensed.

"It's Radditz," he breathed, and Kakarot whipped around, listening as well.

He could make out his brother's voice, as well as Vegeta's, but after a few seconds both voices fell silent and Goku relaxed slightly next to him.

"They're gone." he said.

Kakarot sighed with relief. He knew Vegeta was covering for them. He'd asked why this was so more than once, and he rarely got a straight answer. It was perplexing to him. Why was the prince on their side? It seemed the harder path to take, to keep their secrets and cover their tracks. It would be much easier on the prince to go with the law than against it, especially considering his royal status.

He couldn't say he wasn't grateful, and the diligence Vegeta showed when he deflected Radditz's questions and alerted the selfsame Saiyans if something was amiss was a display of loyalty that Kakarot wouldn't soon forget. And he tried to show his gratitude and repay the favor whenever he could.

"Now," Goku purred in his ear, "Where were we?"

X

Vegeta's tail uncoiled from his waist, lashing nervously as he lead Radditz away from Kakarot's house. That had been a bit too close; if Radditz had entered without knocking or if Vegeta hadn't been there, the long-haired Saiyan would have walked right in on Kakarot and Goku and all Vegeta's work would have been for nothing. There had to be something he could do to divert Radditz's suspicion. To distract him...

"Why do you want to speak to me, my prince?" Radditz asked as Vegeta stopped in the shadow of a moonlit glade.

Vegeta tried to think of a reason on the spot, honestly unsure what he planned to say. Fortunately, working under pressure was a certain specialty of his.

After a few seconds' thought, he said the first thing to come to mind, and he instantly regretted how close he came to brushing the subject he was trying to avoid.

"I wanted to discuss your brother," Since his thoughts had rarely strayed from Kakarot and his worry for how long he could hide the young Saiyan's involvement with his counterpart, his mind was virtually blank at the moment aside from that particular line of thought.

"Kakarot? What about him?" Radditz asked skeptically.

_Dammit, I think I just made him more suspicious._ Vegeta cursed silently.

"A-about his mating with Broly." he amended hastily, trying to steer the focus of the conversation in a direction that wouldn't lead to Kakarot and Goku's exposure... hopefully.

Radditz blinked once, "Is there something wrong with the arrangements Father made?"

"N-no, nothing like that..." Vegeta stammered, kicking himself mentally. _Pull yourself together, you idiot!_

"Well then what's the problem?" Radditz asked coolly, his dark tail flicking.

"I... I was wondering if it was possible to call it off." He could barely believe that those words left his mouth, and he wanted to take them back the instant they did before they could cause unrepairable damage to the precarious situation he found himself in.

The long-haired soldier before him stared for a good three seconds, his eyes very wide.

"Call it off?" he asked, "Impossible, you know the law as well as I, Your Highness. Especially because the peace of Paragus's family and mine rests on this union."

"L-laws can be changed," _Gods, you just keep making this worse for yourself. Say something sensible, you're a prince, aren't you?_

"Not easily," Radditz argued, "And it's too late now to change the plans, the mating is in less than two months. Why would you want to mess with this now? You have something against Broly?"

_No, just the fact that he's going to be bound to Kakarot._ For once, he kept the unwise words silent, and thought carefully before responding.

"Shouldn't Bardock's eldest son be the one who is betrothed for the sake of two families' unity?" _A risky, risky question..._ he thought uncertainly.

Radditz laughed shortly, "You're suggesting I take Kakarot's place? While I may outmatch him in terms of age, his status is greater than mine. Think about it. He's a Super Saiyan, and so is Broly. He'll be twenty-three in two months, _and so will Broly._ It's the perfect situation of equality, why do you think my father was so eager to seal the deal with Paragus?"

Vegeta sighed. He knew all of that, he'd asked as a last-ditch effort.

"Forgive me," Radditz began tentatively, "But are you feeling alright, Highness? You're not usually like this."

"Like what?" Vegeta snapped instinctively.

"Well... it might just be my imagination... but you've been acting strangely, sir..." there was a blatant question in the tall Saiyan's eyes, an anticipation Vegeta wished he could disregard. _He thinks I'm about to explain everything to him... Shit..._

He was out of options, and before he could come up with some kind of excuse that would likely get he and Kakarot into even more trouble, instinct snapped awake in his brain and he pulled Radditz down and kissed him.

X

Radditz knew he'd backed Vegeta into a corner when the prince tensed, anxiety and frustration written on his face. He was sure he was about to find out why Vegeta and Kakarot had been acting so weird. What he hands-down did not expect was for his prince to reach up, snag a hand in his thick hair, and pull him down, laying a kiss on his lips.

He should have been confused or even offended, but for some strange reason, the action came across as an explanation of its own. It would make sense that the prince was acting shifty if he were harboring a crush, and asking for a word with Radditz alone may have just been an excuse to make his intentions plain. He knew how difficult it was to win over prince Vegeta, and being kissed under the moonlight by Saiyan royalty was something Radditz couldn't deny he enjoyed.

A deep purr rumbled from his chest and he added his own pressure to the kiss, pleased he'd come to an answer at last. It didn't quite explain why Kakarot was jumpy too, but it could just be pre-mating jitters, or maybe Kakarot knew that Vegeta desired Radditz and was covering for him until he was ready to tell. Yes, that would make sense...

Vegeta's gloved fingers threaded through Radditz's long hair, and the prince's tail coiled around his bicep, his mouth moving feverishly against Radditz's own. Radditz was a willing participant, unable to deny that the prince was appealing, and knowing that what Vegeta promised with exploring fingers and gentle bites to his lips would be well worth the wait.

X

_I can't believe that worked,_ Vegeta thought, feeling Radditz relax and almost hearing him emptying questions from his mind. If all it took to distract the long-haired Saiyan from prying was a kiss, he would have done that from the start.

Vegeta didn't think anything special of Radditz, but if seducing him meant Kakarot and Goku were safe, then Radditz was going to get his ass seduced. Vegeta almost grimaced at how accurate that thought was. It seemed Vegeta had to somehow feign infatuation... and that wasn't something he was particularly good at. Indeed it wasn't something he had ever actually done.

He could sense Radditz growing restless, and the tall warrior was getting a little too enthusiastic with his participation. His wandering fingers introducing themselves to Vegeta's skin a little too closely. Vegeta could guess what the end result of this would be, and his last thought before he threw in the towel and gave in to his accidental plan was;

_Damn you, Kakarot, you owe me big for this._

X

It was a rare occurrence that Goku powered down around Kakarot for an extended amount of time, but the blonde didn't seem to have any repercussions as Goku curled up next to him in his normal state, exhausted from the night's activities – exhausted to the point of releasing his transformation.

For perhaps the first time since he'd gotten here, his thoughts turned to his family back on Earth. Maybe it was his fourth level's animal nature that had kept him from thinking of such things – or indeed, thinking of much else aside from food and sex - but as he lay next to Kakarot that night he thought of Gohan and Goten, and how they must be missing their father. Of ChiChi in Otherworld, and what she would think about her husband's current partner.

Kakarot stirred slightly, wrapping his arms around Goku's shoulders and embracing him gently; without the slight variance in size and the fur, they could become so close that they nearly melded into one being. It was an action that made Goku's thoughts even more conflicted. He liked being with Kakarot. He enjoyed seeing the homeworld he'd never known in his life. But he knew he had responsibilities to his family too, and yet he'd shamelessly left them behind, hadn't even told them he was leaving them... not that he'd had the time or means to tell them before he was swept here on accident... but still, thinking of his sons and his friends made him guilty, more now than before.

"Goku, go to sleep." Kakarot muttered without opening his eyes, "You're so tense you're like a brick of _Katchin._"

Goku laughed quietly at Kakarot's hyperbole's reference to the hardest metal in the known universe.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," he murmured, allowing his body to relax in Kakarot's arms.

"About what?" Kakarot said tiredly, as if not really expecting a response.

"Certain...choices..." Goku said evasively.

To his surprise, Kakarot sat up and fixed him with his sharp green gaze calculatingly.

"What choices?" Now his tone of voice was controlled and alert. Goku wondered what he'd said to wake his counterpart up so quickly.

"Just... about staying here... leaving my family..." he supposed he should be honest; he wasn't a very good liar and it wouldn't do him any good to try to lie to Kakarot anyway.

A mixture of guilt and dismay clouded Kakarot's emerald eyes and he lowered his head slightly, his blonde bangs shadowing his forlorn face.

"You regret staying here with me," he said in monotone. It was not a question.

Goku hesitated. He wasn't sure he regretted the time he'd spent here, he just wasn't sure he'd spent it justly. ...Was that the same as regret?

He must have hesitated too long, because Kakarot sighed shortly and dropped his gaze even lower.

"I knew it." the young Saiyan said bitterly, his gold tail slashing once. He swiftly got to his feet, still keeping his face too low for his expression to be read.

"Kakarot, wait!" Goku said, snatching the blonde Saiyan's wrist before he could leave.

Kakarot looked at him for a moment, and Goku caught a glimpse of the tears welling in his eyes, suppressed as the younger Saiyan blinked forcefully.

Goku tried to say something, thinking of what he could possibly say. He sat there for a moment, his mouth slightly open as he scrambled for speech to voice his thoughts.

Kakarot watched him expectantly for a few seconds, but when he said nothing, the young Saiyan wrenched his wrist out of Goku's grip, looking angry and conflicted.

"I was wasting my time," he growled, "You never wanted to stay..."

"I did," Goku reproached, forcing his mind to keep up with what was happening, "I still do," he amended.

"Why?" Kakarot snapped sharply, "You'd rather go back to your own world, and you don't belong here anyway. Why don't you just go back then? If you're unhappy here?"

"I-I'm sorry," Goku said, "I shouldn't have said that. It was thoughtless of me..."

"But it's true isn't it?' Kakarot muttered, "You said -"

"If I was given the choice," Goku said carefully, "I would stay here. This is my home, where I was born, and I want to stay with you."

"Not good enough." Kakarot said shortly, crossing his arms.

Goku swallowed, knowing what Kakarot wanted him to say. He still couldn't say it though, although he wasn't quite sure what was holding him back now.

"I... I love being with you, and -"

"Still not enough." Kakarot interrupted.

"I want you, Kakarot." Goku implored, trying to say something to convince the other.

A sound came from Kakarot's throat. At first Goku thought it was a dismissive snort, but then he realized it was a short laugh.

"Why can't you just say it?" Kakarot said, "Is it so hard? You've said just about everything else, why is it so wrong for you to love me?"

_Because I don't._ Goku knew it would be unwise to say that, and that it would definitely make Kakarot leave if he did at this particular moment.

"I need you," One last attempt to win the other Saiyan over, "You hear me, Kakarot? I _need _you."

For a long moment, Kakarot stood firm, glaring at Goku with bottle-green pools of indecision.

At last he sighed and sat back down on the bed.

"I guess that's good enough for now." he conceded quietly, "But you're going to have to say it sometime, you know."

Goku looked at him for a moment, wondering why he'd been so desperate to convince him not to leave. Did Kakarot really mean that much to him? They were the same person, it seemed illogical, especially in such a short amount of time. But when Kakarot had gotten up, turning to depart, possibly for good, something inside Goku had panicked, and he'd been frozen with terror at the thought of the young Saiyan not being there.

Goku smiled just slightly, "Yeah," he said with a soft laugh that sounded like an exhalation,"I know."

TBC

_((Jeez, I have a whole plot in my head for this story, but I only update once or twice a month. Pathetic. Had to add the Radditz/Vegeta as per request, which I think I mentioned, and I think some uncertainty was needed between Kaka and Goku in order to maintain their relationship. This story seems to have a way of pacing itself extremely quickly, kind of like Gravity and RYW._

_Heheh, can't wait until Broly comes in, that shit's gonna be epicccc. And if you think the above scene is drama you just WAIT. _

_So excited for this story to pan out, I haven't been this happy about a plot in a long time._

_Thanks as always for reading and reviewing._

_-Shinsun))_


	6. Chapter 6

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 6

A month passed. Kakarot was growing nervous, knowing the time to conceal his secret about his betrothal to Broly from Goku was limited, and growing more limited by the day. His time with his furred companion was likewise dwindling, and he counted each moment like his last; never wanting it to end, never wanting to be torn away from the one thing that had made him happier than anything ever had.

He received a bit of a shock when next he saw Vegeta; he'd been showing Goku the south side of the royal city, and he'd nearly walked right into the prince, who had looked up in time to be kissed full on the mouth by Kakarot's older brother. When Radditz released the royal lips, Vegeta averted his gaze, blushing furiously, and muttered some noncommittal response when Kakarot asked when the hell _that_ had started. He was glad for Vegeta as long as he was happy, and though he'd heard the prince ranting at Radditz as the two walked away, he could hear the amusement and maybe even fondness in his voice. Companionship would be good for the usually solitary prince, Kakarot thought, it might get him out of his shell a little bit.

For the time being, Kakarot himself was happy. He might not have gotten Goku to say he loved him, but he'd gotten pretty damn close, and with each tender kiss the older Saiyan gave him, and after being put through the best positions all night nearly every night, he forgave his counterpart for his inability to admit what he wanted him to.

X

Vegeta woke up on the floor. Again. Pushed out of bed by that useless lug he now shared his room with.

"Dammit Radditz," he groaned as he got stiffly to his feet, his back aching from being pressed to the hard wooden floor.

A contrite pair of dark eyes surveyed him through long shaggy hair, and Radditz gave some kind of apology in a mumble, his tail swishing once.

"If you keep doing this I'm going to stop letting you sleep here," Vegeta muttered, "You'll just have to suck it up and fly home once you're finished with your business."

Radditz dropped his gaze to the ground, "Sorry Highness," he said, "It's just the bed's too damn small for both of us."

"Then get me a bigger one," Vegeta said dismissively, slipping on his spandex leggings, "It's not my problem if your family grow like weeds."

Even Kakarot had towered over Vegeta since he was fifteen; it was ridiculous, he was a prince, he was supposed to be able to loom over his subjects and sneer, not stand on his toes just to look them in the eye. Though he supposed Radditz had a point; the one-man cot he'd slept in since he'd returned from his last mission on planet Shikk was much too small for two Saiyans to sleep comfortably in, regardless of height difference.

Radditz stood and started to get dressed, his head bowed in chagrin. Vegeta took a step over to him and kissed him lightly.

"Forget about it; I'll get my father to provide new sleeping quarters for us, it's not a problem."

Despite the fact that he'd only seduced Radditz to divert his suspicions of Kakarot, he had actually grown to care for the long-haired idiot. Though he doubted he'd ever admit such a thing out loud, he was sure Radditz knew his true feelings, and returned them.

X

It hadn't taken long for Goku to learn his way around the royal city, the architecture wasn't very straightforward, so it should have been easy to get lost with few recognizable landmarks, but he was soon able to navigate around the city without a problem, even without Kakarot's help.

He was beginning to really enjoy Vegeta-sei, now that he understood it and had seen enough of it to have a good idea what the planet on the whole was like. It was strangely familiar, as if he'd seen it before in a dream, or had it described to him in a half-forgotten memory. He found he was more suited to the climate here than he'd ever been on planet Earth; the almost constant warmth felt great on his skin after enduring freezing winters for years. On Vegeta-sei, there was no such thing as winter; there was a wet season and a dry season, and with two suns, the temperatures nearly always soared, making the planet wonderfully scorching for much of the year.

To add to the heat, he spent almost every second of his time around Kakarot, who was like a living furnace himself, with burning kisses and steady body heat, his scent like fire and ash, though nearly identical to Goku's own.

The passion that had been stoked between them since their first meeting had not faded over the course of the month; it had only grown, and though both knew exactly how and where to give the other pleasure, the possibilities for new combinations and intensities of sensation were endless.

The day had dawned hot and arid, just like every other day Goku had seen on Vegeta-sei thus far, as it was the middle of the dry season. Kakarot had left a few hours earlier, saying he had to talk to Vegeta about something, and so Goku was alone for a while. It was a rare occurrence, and while he loved Kakarot's companionship, and enjoyed the company of the other Saiyans, he reveled in the solitude for the moment. He got dressed and sat on the windowsill for a while, sipping one of the strange tea-like drinks that was indigenous to the planet.

He was interrupted as he felt a familiar ki approaching him, and glanced up to see Radditz on the other side of the room, looking around for something. Goku raised a hand in a wave of greeting, but the gesture wasn't returned as the other Saiyan was too preoccupied with his search for some unknown object.

"What are you looking for?" Goku asked interestedly, getting to his feet and setting down his cup.

Radditz muttered something that sounded like "paint", and Goku raised an eyebrow, confused.

"Paint? What for?"

Radditz rolled his black eyes exasperatedly, as if reluctant to explain.

"Ceremonial body paint," he clarified, "It's made of crushed minerals... in a flat circular pot about... this big," he brought his index fingers and thumbs together to form a small circle, "Do you know where Kakarot put it?"

"No," Goku shook his head, "Why would Kakarot have something like that anyway?"

"...Father shouldn't have entrusted him with something that sacred," Radditz muttered to himself, ignoring Goku's question,"Even if it is _his_ ceremony..."

Goku blinked, "What kind of ceremony?"

Radditz glared at him, his long tail twitching irritably, "That information is a secret that I wouldn't have the authority to share with an outsider. It's more than my life's worth to give the details of a Saiyan mating ceremony to someone who doesn't even belong on this planet."

For a long moment, Goku stared, unsure if he'd heard correctly, "_Mating_ ceremony? Who...?" he began, trepidation setting in.

Radditz moved his hair out of his face impatiently, "Yeah, Kakarot's mating to Broly, it's in less than a month so it's important that I find that damn paint before -"

"_What?"_ Goku shouted, only registering the look of startled confusion crossing Radditz's face for a moment before he teleported.

X

Kakarot jumped, startled, when Goku appeared directly in front of him, his energy snapping around him like a tangible aura, a look of rage on his face. Vegeta was a few feet away, he'd reacted much the same as Kakarot had, and had taken a step back when the furred Saiyan appeared, wisely giving him space.

"Goku, what -?" Kakarot began bemusedly, but he was interrupted.

"_When the hell were you going to tell me_?" Goku snarled, his black bangs shadowing his golden eyes fiercely.

"What?" Kakarot asked in confusion.

"You're mating to Broly in a month?! Why didn't you _say_ anything?" the red-furred Saiyan demanded.

Kakarot's heart leapt into his throat and he stammered unintelligibly for a moment, unable to speak. Oh gods, he _knew_! It was all over now...

"How long were you going to keep _fucking_ with me until you bothered to mention that you were planning on being bonded to _someone else_ the whole time?!" Goku shouted, his energy reaching dangerous levels, nearly blowing Kakarot and Vegeta backwards with the intensity.

"I-I wasn't _planning_ on -" Kakarot began, breaking off and swallowing hard, "I h- I had no choice!"

"THEN WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KEEP PLAYING THIS _GAME_ WITH ME?" Goku roared, the volume of his enraged voice making Kakarot cringe, "Why did you let me kiss you and sleep with you... Why did you fucking say you were in _love _with me?!"

"Not like you ever returned the favor." Kakarot retorted angrily.

"That's not the _point_!" his counterpart snarled furiously, "You knew you couldn't stay with me, but you... You didn't give a damn, did you?!"

Kakarot counted how many times Goku had swore... it was a lot. He was really upset, and Kakarot knew he had a good reason to be.

"Goku, I'm sorry -" Kakarot began, feeling his eyes pricking with tears.

"Save it for someone who cares, Kakarot!" Goku growled, "I can't believe I ever thought we were the same person, I would _never_ do something like this! What was this then? One last fling before you mated to that bastard?! Something interesting to do before you settled down?! I'm sure Broly will have a good laugh with you about the freak from another dimension you were fucking before -!"

"Shut up!" Kakarot shouted, the tears escaping his eyes and running down his cheeks, "You don't know what you're talking about, Goku, I love you!"

"Is THIS what you do to the people you love?!" Goku screamed, enraged, "Play with their hearts and then throw them away? It must be just fucking great, Kakarot, to be loved by you." the last few words were absolutely dripping with bitter sarcasm, and Goku gave him a mutilating glare with piercing brass eyes rimmed by red.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to believe you," the furred Saiyan snarled, tail lashing, "I should have just run the other way when I laid eyes on you, it would save us both a lot of trouble."

Kakarot could feel the other's energy rising ever higher, higher than he'd ever sensed it before, and it took him a moment to realize it was a deliberate effort; and he remembered Goku's story of how he'd managed to come to this dimension... by raising his power so high that he ripped a hole in time and space.

"Goku don't -!" he began desperately, reaching out for the Saiyan he loved; but he was too late to stop his counterpart from breaching the same barrier he'd crossed before, and Goku disappeared, leaving a wake of swirling energy dissipating in his sudden absence.

TBC

_((Short chapter, but I think the content makes up for that. Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I've been a little preoccupied lately._

_Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing,_

_-Shinsun))_


	7. Chapter 7

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 7

A wave crashed over Goku's back, covering him in foaming salty water that rushed into his ears and caused his hair to droop around his face. Gritty sand abraded against his skin; clung to his chest fur and his soaked pants, dragging on him as if trying to suck him into the ground. Blearily, he raised his head, his temples pounding with pain. It was sunset, and he was lying on the beach, the sand around him was dyed orange with the fading light, the water sparkling with the last rays of the sun. He heard a raised voice calling something, but he couldn't make out what it was. Shaking his head quickly to clear it, he tried to get to his feet, his shoes sinking into the wet sand as his exhausted and waterlogged arms shook to support the rest of his weight, his drenched tail giving no balance.

"Dad!" the voice from before shouted, and Goku blinked fuzzily, watching a shadow cross the sand over to him.

"G-Gohan?" he stammered, his mouth tasted like salt.

"What happened?" Gohan asked, "You said you were going to train, what are you doing back here? Why are you in the water?"

Goku stared, completely lost.

"W-what?" he asked bemusedly, "...I was gone... Gohan, I was gone for almost two months, I...!"

"What are you talking about?" Gohan sounded utterly confused, "You teleported to go train and then you just reappeared a few minutes later and fell in the water... Are you okay, Dad? Did you hit your head or something?"

Goku just looked at him with his mouth slightly ajar in shock. _Did none of it really happen...? _he thought uncertainly...

_No... it was real, I'm sure of it..._

"The time scale must be different..." he murmured to himself, attempting to stand again. He got shakily to his feet and flicked seawater from his tail distractedly.

"Did you say something?" Gohan asked, looking concerned.

"Nothing," Goku said quickly, shaking water from his hair, "Where's Goten?"

"He and Trunks left with Bulma to get ice cream, remember?" Gohan said, looking just slightly unnerved.

Goku racked his memory, it had been so long ago... And yet no time had passed here at all?

"So..." Gohan began slowly, "You didn't get to train? Where did you teleport anyway?"

Sighing, Goku remembered why he was here; what had happened with Kakarot that had driven him to leave. He couldn't believe how angry he'd gotten; he could barely even remember what exactly he'd said... _How could he do that to me?_ He thought frustratedly, _How could he not tell me something that important?_

He realized Gohan had asked a question, and hastened to answer.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered, "I'm not going back."

X

Gohan shook his head slowly as he followed his dad back home, the sun disappearing behind the horizon as they flew. Something seemed off about his father; maybe he really had hit his head while training... he was just acting really out of it, as if he had no idea what was going on around him.

_I hope he's okay..._ he thought. He wasn't sure how he'd be able to help his dad if he didn't know what was wrong with him.. _Maybe he just needs to sleep it off..._

Once the house was within sight, his dad stopped in midair, his red tail swishing slowly in deep thought. Gohan blinked, perplexed, and floated over to him, reading the strange look in his gilded eyes. He was looking at home as if he'd never seen it before, or as if he'd been away for a long time and was just laying eyes on it...

An awkward chuckle left Gohan's mouth as he tried to diffuse the tension, "Uh... Goten'll be back soon, do you want to head inside and wait for him?"

His father seemed to snap out of a daze, and he looked at Gohan with an expression he couldn't describe, "Sure."

Gohan raised an eyebrow, debating whether to ask again if his dad was feeling okay.

As night fell, Gohan's concern deepened as he felt his dad's ki fluctuating strangely as he slept. He peered around the bedroom door hesitantly, unsure if he should try to help somehow. His father was tossing and turning in his sleep, soft sounds of distress escaping between his clenched teeth.

Uncertainly, Gohan approached him and laid a hand on his shoulder, "Dad... Dad, wake up."

His dad blinked, and looked at him with bright golden eyes.

"You were having a nightmare," Gohan said.

Sitting up slowly, his dad shook his head listlessly "No, not a nightmare," he muttered.

Understanding rose in Gohan's chest as he studied his father's face; he'd seen that look before.

"You're missing someone... someone you lost,"

His dad blinked, "How do you know?"

"I've seen the same look on Mom's face a long time ago, whenever she would mention you while you were dead." He was silent a moment before daring to ask, "...Who is it?"

A sorrowful look crossed his face, "It's not important," he lied, and Gohan knew it was a lie.

Gohan wasn't sure if he should say it, but he recognized the new expression filling his father's eyes as well. He'd seen it often enough from Videl, and felt the emotions that caused it himself.

"...You're in love," he murmured.

He seemed startled, and Gohan watched as emotions flitted visibly over his face, watched as his world rearranged itself in his eyes.

"I can't..." Goku said softly, "It's impossible..."

Gohan looked at him steadily, "Go to them," he said, "I don't care who it is, you deserve to be happy."

"I'm not s-supposed to," his dad stammered, looking away.

"Why not?"

There was a long pause, "...He's not mine to love..."

Gohan was only surprised briefly that the person that caused this level of infatuation in his father was male; he'd never seen him so torn up before, and whether it broke the rules or not, he had to help him make it right.

"Dad, tell me everything," he said, "Please, I can help you."

X

Goku told him. He didn't even stop to think about whether his son would be appalled by his father's choice, or even that he wouldn't understand, he just told him everything that had happened since he'd accidentally crossed dimensions to Vegeta-sei. About Kakarot, about how his younger self had admitted to loving him, but how he couldn't return it, and... about his betrothal to Broly.

When he was finished, he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but he was also nervous, unsure how Gohan would react.

Gohan looked at him for a long time, and he only said three words.

"Go home, Dad."

Goku blinked perplexedly, and his son continued.

"You can't stay here, I can see how miserable it's making you... I'll miss you, but your heart doesn't belong here anymore. Go after your Kakarot..."

Gohan looked a little bit sad, but his words were empathetic, and Goku was surprised. He'd expected him to be unnerved or even disgusted.

"You... you're really okay with this?" he asked carefully.

Gohan just smiled in understanding, "I really am. It doesn't matter who you love, I think, all that matters is that you tell them before it's too late."

_It may already be too late,_ Goku thought ruefully.

"Goten and I will be fine," Gohan said, "And if what you said about the time being different is true, maybe you can visit sometimes... and bring him with you."

"But... I'm not even sure if I'll be able to make the jump across dimensions again... much less if I'll end up in the same place." Goku protested. Last time he hadn't even had a destination in mind, pure chance had led him to Kakarot. He wasn't sure if he could put that much faith on such slim odds.

Gohan looked at him sincerely, "As cheesy as it sounds, Dad; love finds a way."

X

Vegeta could barely believe what he was seeing. On the edge of his sparring ground, sprawled in the dirt at the base of a cliff, was the form of a person he knew all too well.

_He came back... I can't believe it, he came back!_

He rushed to the red-furred Saiyan's side, mingled relief and confusion running through him. He was unconscious, just like the last time he'd appeared here; but at least he wasn't seriously injured again.

Shaking the furred person's shoulder, Vegeta raised his voice to wake him, "Goku, get up, come on."

Groggily, the other's red-lidded eyes opened and focused on him.

"Vegeta," he said thickly, his voice dry, and he attempted to sit up, an obviously painful effort.

"You came back," Vegeta breathed, still scarcely believing it, "He always said you would..."

"Who?"

"Kakarot." Vegeta looked at him piercingly, "Even after you disappeared and everyone thought you were gone for good, he had faith that you'd return."

Cautiously, Goku got to his feet, "What happened, Vegeta? What's happened since I was gone?"

Vegeta sighed, "It's a mess, honestly."

"How... how long has it been?" he sounded uncertain, tentative.

Vegeta averted his eyes, recounting everything that had happened in his mind.

"Five years," he said softly, meeting the other's gaze again, "Kakarot is twenty-eight now, he's been mated to that bastard Broly for half a decade. And I have taken a mate as well."

"Radditz?" Goku asked.

Vegeta nodded, "It will be three years since we mated next month."

"But what about Kakarot and Broly? What...? I mean..." he didn't seem sure what he wanted to ask.

Anger sparked in Vegeta's veins and he glared at the taller man, "Broly immediately took control, the second after they were mated, he has dominated Kakarot, forcing him and punishing him..."

"No..." Goku whispered in denial, likely picturing Kakarot's innocent face marred with bruises from how often Broly had taken out his anger on him physically; a sight Vegeta had been forced to look at nearly every day.

"That's not the worst of it," Vegeta growled, "The bastard apparently thought that wasn't enough, and he took full advantage of his dominant rank to violate Kakarot completely..."

"What?" Goku said in disbelief, "You don't mean he..."

A snarl left Vegeta's throat, and his hair turned to gold in his fury; another thing that had happened since Goku left. Vegeta had achieved Super Saiyan just shortly after he found out what Broly had done to his friend.

"For five years," Vegeta said dangerously, "He forced himself on Kakarot, raping him over and over until he was bleeding so fucking much that he couldn't even stand up... How many times the healers had to fix the damage... I lost count somewhere in the dozens... Broly was ruthless; he held him down, he broke his arms, he twisted his tail... He's damn lucky he didn't kill Kakarot, though I think it would have been a relief for him to die after all that..."

"That... monster..." Goku snarled, outrage coloring the words; apparently he was unable to make himself say any more.

"And even then, Kakarot didn't give up on you," Vegeta went on, fixing Goku with an accusing glare, "He still loved you even when his tail had so many breaks in it that he couldn't move it and he was on the verge of passing out from agony, he still loved you when he was detained in the healers' huts from blood loss after being raped unconscious... Do you have any idea how much he fucking cried over you?!"

Anguish and shame warred it out on Goku's face, and Vegeta felt a small rush of satisfaction; he wanted the furred counterpart of his friend to have a least a small taste of the suffering Kakarot had gone through since he'd decided to abandon him.

"No one could do anything," the prince continued, "The law protected Broly from anything we could charge him with, even my father was powerless to stop him."

Saiyan laws were particularly cruel when it came to a dominant mate's rights. It was a bond unbroken except by death, which was probably why Broly was so careful not to kill Kakarot with his brutal ministrations; he wanted to keep Kakarot as his little _pet _ forever.

"And now, Goku," Vegeta said shortly, "What are you going to do?"

The fire in the golden eyes that Goku fixed him with startled him a little.

"I'm going to fix this," the tall Saiyan growled intensely, "I'm going to set things right with Kakarot... and then I'm going to send that monster Broly on his painful way to Hell."

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 8

Kakarot touched his face absently, wincing as his fingertips came in contact with another bruise. They showed up clearer each time, and he wondered if it was because Broly was hitting him harder, or because he was getting paler from lack of sleep and fear. His tail flicked beside his own leg, a little sore and stiff from his last healing session, but otherwise intact. He should have counted himself lucky he hadn't been permanently injured, but the soreness served as a reminder of how helpless he was when his domineering mate took control. He could remember the splitting agony of having his tail twisted and bent, the delicate bones crunching together and sending lightning bolts of torment up his spine with each one that was mutilated. And that wasn't even the worst part; the worst of it was when he couldn't get his muscles to relax before Broly forced himself inside, tearing and shredding until Kakarot wanted to pass out from the pain. And when he was done, Broly left him alone to bleed, until Vegeta or Radditz found him like they always did and took him to be healed. But they couldn't stop Broly from doing the same thing over and over again, and Kakarot could do nothing but obey and submit, or else it would be worse for him.

In other words, Broly was not Kakarot's mate; he was his master. Nearly his owner, except Kakarot had one thing keeping him from breaking, one thing keeping him from giving in and surrendering.

He had a memory of what it was like to be cherished, of how it was supposed to be; and he drew on his memories of Goku and the wonderful experiences he'd shown him every time Broly descended on him.

Broly had thought Kakarot was a virgin when they mated; that he had no idea what to expect and couldn't associate the union of two bodies with anything but mastery and pain, but Kakarot knew different, and that was one small thing that kept him from feeling hopeless; one small flame of defiance that kept him fighting Broly's control.

He heard footsteps, and looked up nervously in time to see the familiar form of Broly striding through the doorway. The tall, dark-haired Saiyan looked at him briefly with coal eyes, the golden bands on his arms glinting in the fading sunlight as his tail lashed and curled.

"You were healed again," he said in monotone, his lips barely moving.

Kakarot's tail smacked the bed with suppressed anger, "No thanks to you."

"That's right," Broly scowled, "His Highness and his little long-haired friend always help you out."

Kakarot set his teeth, "If they didn't, I wouldn't be here now."

Broly loomed over him, and an imprinted sense of foreboding urged Kakarot to shrink back, but he resisted.

"You would be," Broly said icily, "And you'd be a little wiser for it."

"I would be crippled," Kakarot spat.

A snarl cornered Broly's mouth, "You would learn some humility. A little pain can teach you a lot."

_A little?_ Kakarot thought incredulously.

"Like what?" he retorted.

He swallowed hard in mounting dread as Broly's fingers clenched around his jaw, "Like when to hold your tongue."

Kakarot was aware that he was shivering fearfully as he met Broly's flinty eyes, "Broly, please don't -" he implored, "It's only been a day -"

"Should have thought of that before you decided to run your mouth," Broly growled.

With that, the tall Saiyan gripped Kakarot's shoulder and wrenched him to the side so that he was flat on his stomach on the bed. Kakarot grit his teeth as his muscles sang with pain, and in a burst of resistance he tried to get up, to flee and get away from the threat every nerve was interpreting loud and clear.

Broly was having none of it, and he dragged Kakarot back so that he not only lost his balance, but fell so that he was sprawled on the floor instead of the mattress; on his hands and knees at Broly's feet, unable to escape.

Terror raced through Kakarot's veins as unforgiving hands grabbed his shoulders from behind, twisting his arms behind his back and snapping bones, which ripped through muscle as they shattered, jabbing him with spears of pain. Broly threw him to the ground, his ruined arms useless to catch him as his face collided with the stone floor, cutting teeth through his gums, the broken fragments slicing at the meat of his tongue. He spat blood, defenselessness setting in as Broly's fingers grabbed his hips, digging in bruisingly before he stripped away Kakarot's spandex leggings.

Kakarot's tail automatically tried to move away, but wasn't able to evade Broly's hand as it closed around the base painfully, applying pressure as he held the appendage away from his goal. Kakarot took a shuddering, shallow breath, trying to force himself to relax, knowing it would only be worse if he was tense.

A choked shout of agony escaped him as Broly shoved into his entrance, and he heard the perverse groan the other released as he started to move his hips, destroying inner muscle with each brutal thrust as Kakarot felt trickles of hot blood begin to leak down the insides of his thighs.

"So fucking tight," Broly panted cruelly, driving in deeper and eliciting a tormented whimper, "Just like always, pet."

A growl that was drenched in pain and blood rumbled from Kakarot's throat and he squeezed his eyes shut, "Don't -" he forced out, his voice strained and shaking, "Don't call me that you bastard."

He inhaled sharply as Broly flipped him and slammed him down on his back, ribs piercing his lungs as he struggled to breathe, coughing wetly on the blood in his throat and chest.

"Still running the mouth," Broly sneered, "Keep it shut, pet, and I'll make this quick."

Kakarot felt tears forming behind his eyelids, of fear and helplessness, and he moaned dully in pain as Broly invaded him again, taking his tail in his hand, a little higher up.

_Think... think of something else..._ his thoughts begged, and he kept his eyes closed, taking clogged, steadying breaths as he tried to remember a happier memory. For a seeming eternity, his mind failed him, blank except for the pain weighing on his body, the fear thrumming in his veins.

_Kakarot, you are so amazing..._

He exhaled softly as the remembered words lulled his mind, the smile on Goku's face as he kissed him and worshipped him, the beautiful golden eyes resting gently on him.

_I want to stay here with you and never let you go... I need you... you hear me, Kakarot? I _need_ you..._

Kakarot felt the tears escape and trace down his cheeks, and he had only a dim awareness of Broly hammering into him ruthlessly as he thought of Goku's words, the ache in his heart as he thought of how much he still loved him, how much he wished he could see him again, one more time.

He was jolted from his remembrance, his eyes snapping open, as he felt fingers gripping his tail harshly; his world narrowing to the sensitive appendage in Broly's grasp, and he watched with the same thrill of horror he always felt as it was snapped to the side, then twisted almost into a knot, unbearable agony pinching and crushing the fragile bones beneath hypersensitive skin and fur. He screamed, trying futilely to kick his tormentor away, only to have his shin splintered as his leg was broken beneath Broly's boot. Broly was panting delightedly as he thrust once more, the final movement lubricated with blood, and he released his seed deep in Kakarot's depths as he gave a sickening sigh of deranged ecstasy.

Then he withdrew mercifully, and only gave Kakarot a dismissive glance before walking away and pulling up his pants.

And as he left, Kakarot curled into a ball, blood pooling between his legs, and broke down into choked, gasping sobs as tears rushed uncontrollably down his face.

X

It couldn't be real. Goku stared in horror, unable to comprehend what he was looking at. There was no way Kakarot could still be breathing with that much blood creeping across the floor. He had known Vegeta was telling the truth when he described the monstrous rapes Broly had forced on Kakarot, but whatever he'd pictured didn't come close to what he was seeing.

Kakarot was lying, curled up like a wounded animal, in a shockingly bright red puddle of his own blood, seeping from between his thighs; his leg was at an awkward, twisted angle, clearly broken, and his arms were limp, bone visible in some places where it had shredded through the skin. His tail was a knotted, tangled mess that was painful just to look at, and his frame was shaking with weak, clotted sobbing.

Tentatively, forcing himself to move, Goku approached the tortured figure, and knelt, horrified that the damage looked so much worse up close, at Kakarot's side.

"Kakarot..." he murmured; his voice sounded feeble and distant, barely able to form coherent words with the numb disbelief taking over.

Kakarot visibly flinched, and hollow, green eyes opened slowly and looked at him without focus.

Goku felt his heart break. There was such a depth of tormented fear and defeat in those eyes that he could almost feel it himself. And Kakarot gave no sign of recognition before his eyes flitted closed exhaustedly, his breathing sawing in his chest, thick with blood.

_He doesn't know who I am right now,_ Goku thought, _I doubt he'd recognize anyone though... Is this what Vegeta had to see every time he came to rescue him?_

He loathed having to move Kakarot, having to lift him and in doing so cause him more pain, but he had to do it, or else Kakarot would die here. As gently as he could, he wrapped an arm around Kakarot's shoulders, and hooked the other behind his legs, lifting him like a delicate thing and holding him to his chest carefully, feeling rivulets of blood running from the injured Saiyan's legs and dripping down on his own arms and chest. He was aware when Kakarot lost consciousness in his arms, likely passing out from pain or blood loss.

He brought him over to the bed on the other side of the room, and laid him down. He remembered his grandpa Gohan's teachings in healing, but even then, he knew it would be a stretch to fix the damage himself. Luckily Vegeta had supplied him with some of the healers' herbs, but still he berated himself for not bringing senzu when he'd returned here.

He set to work, stopping as much of the bleeding as he could and setting the broken leg, but the arms took a bit more effort, and he was fairly certain every single bone in them had been shattered or bent. He didn't know what to do with the tail, so he treated it much the same as he would another arm, carefully laying it straight and being sparing with any bandages, as they would just have to be removed later, and that would be a painful process for such a sensitive part of the body. He chewed the herbs Vegeta had given him into a paste as he'd been instructed, and applied them wherever they were needed, slipping a certain ground-up leaf into Kakarot's mouth for him to swallow, which he was told would stop internal bleeding. The rest was up to natural Saiyan healing.

Feeling rather helpless, Goku sat on the edge of the bed next to him, his tail curling restlessly. At first his thoughts dwelt on Kakarot, and he allowed himself to feel what he'd been hiding from for much too long, that he truly did love him. It had taken Gohan's perception for him to realize it, but he couldn't deny that he'd known it all along deep down.

And then his pondering turned to Broly. A growl came from his throat as he thought of what that bastard had done... and he swore he would make him pay in blood for it. Just thinking about the relentless agony Broly had caused Kakarot for years was enough for him to want to rip out his spine and feed it to him. ...Though he did consider that a slow, thorough castration may be more appropriate.

Kakarot stirred slightly with a quiet murmur of pain, and Goku immediately snapped to attention.

_He's coming to already?_ He thought, _Gods, he's so much more resilient than me... I was out for a whole day when I had half his injuries._

Kakarot's expression was contorted with discomfort, and his eyes squinted open after a long moment, instantly landing on Goku.

He said two words.

"I'm dreaming..." he murmured, his vision obviously still unsteady as his emerald eyes shifted for focus, nearly rolling back in his head at some point.

"Kakarot," Goku said levelly, "You're badly hurt, you should rest."

Kakarot looked at him waveringly for a long moment, "...Are you real?" he asked thinly.

Goku felt an ache in his throat of mixed pity and affection, and he slowly leaned down and touched his lips to Kakarot's chastely. He could feel Kakarot trembling, and when he broke away, Kakarot's lips pursued his beseechingly, a soft sound of longing escaping him.

Goku remembered that, while it had been only a few hours since he'd last seen Kakarot, for Kakarot himself it had been much longer. It had been _years_ since Kakarot had seen him, since he'd been able to look at him and kiss him. And in all that time he'd been sure that he'd never see him again, that he'd be condemned to a life all but enslaved by Broly until that monster saw fit to end him. That thought alone caused Goku to cave with an almost painful rush of sympathy, and he gently covered Kakarot's mouth with his own, feeling and hearing the moan released almost desperately against his lips.

"Please..." Kakarot whispered when Goku drew away again, "S-stay... please... don't leave me again..."

"Never again," Goku promised, lightly kissing him again.

"Goku please..." Kakarot pleaded shakily, "Love me... make love to me..."

Goku met his dazed green eyes, and slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry Kakarot... You've lost a lot of blood, you aren't thinking clearly... Rest; when you've recovered completely, and only then, I will do anything you ask."

There was a long silence, and for a moment Goku thought Kakarot had fallen unconscious again, until he spoke.

"W-why did you... come back?" Kakarot asked quietly, his eyes closed as he drew breath slowly, clearly in great pain.

Goku allowed himself to just look at him, amazed how uniquely beautiful he could still be when they were two versions of the same person.

"I love you, Kakarot."

He heard Kakarot's breathing catch, and watched the slightly unsteady smile cross his face.

"I love you too," he said in little but a whisper, his eyes still closed.

Goku smiled, "I know."

Kakarot paused for a moment, "What are... you g-going to do about Broly?"

A grim determination sparked in Goku's chest, and his tail swished once, "I'm going to set you free of him. He can't run or hide from me, and his death will be slow and painful; you have my word. He will be punished for what he's done to you."

Kakarot was silent for a while again, processing Goku's words.

After a moment his eyes flitted open and looked at Goku with a mix of emotions meshing in his gaze.

"Goku..." he said softly.

"Hmm?" Goku asked.

"...I missed you..."

Goku leaned down again and brushed his lips across Kakarot's brow, "I missed you too."

TBC

_((So... apparently I do my stories in chunks. I get focused and I throw in a bunch of cliffhangers, and boom, three chapters in three days. This one was a little cruel at the beginning, sorry about that. But I made up for it with some nice sap for you, and believe you me, Broly is going to get his punishment and then some. I'd be very... amused... at any suggestions you guys have for how precisely Goku should hand him his ass. Be creative guys, I look forward to it._

_Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing. This story is looking to be short but sweet, and I think we're already past the halfway point, unless some new inspiration comes up. _

_-Shinsun)) _


	9. Chapter 9

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 9

Broly did not return for three days, and in that time Kakarot slowly healed, and Goku watched over him, refusing to leave his side for even a moment. Vegeta or Radditz would drop by now and again, tempting Goku to eat something or bringing news of Broly's whereabouts so they could keep an eye out for him. Radditz was made aware of the full extent of the situation as well; namely that Goku and Kakarot were the same person, and that they were in love. To say he was surprised was an understatement, but he didn't back out on helping his younger brother, and with his and Vegeta's help, Goku gradually formulated a plan for how to deal with Broly.

"How long does it usually take for him to come back?" he asked Kakarot, sitting on the edge of his bed and changing his bandages for him. There were fewer of them now, but his tail, leg, and left arm were still badly injured. And judging from the wince that crossed Kakarot's face whenever he breathed deeply, there were still a few broken ribs left to heal.

"Couple days, usually," Kakarot muttered, gritting his teeth as the dressings were removed gently from his tail, "He waits for me to recover before he returns... but he never helps with the process himself."

_Well he wouldn't..._ Goku thought grimly, _considering the damage is of his doing..._

"And what does he usually... do with you?" he asked. Surely Broly didn't _constantly_ deal abuse and violation to Kakarot? There must be more to there forced relationship than that.

"Honestly..." Kakarot sighed, a shaky purr emanating from his chest as Goku examined his tail for breaks, threading the furry length delicately through his hand, "He ignores me, mostly. Unless I do something wrong or address him directly... or unless he wants something from me... he leaves me alone."

_What kind of mate is he?_ Goku thought, _Disregarding unless provoked, and the only giving attention in the form of violence? ...No wonder Kakarot's so afraid of him._

Goku let the blonde tail go, it was lackluster and bruised still, but other than that it was unharmed.

"Your tail's fine," he said, "As long as you keep it still. Keep your arm in the cast for a few more days, and don't put your weight on that leg or anything..."

"Thank you," Kakarot purred, leaning over to kiss him leisurely.

Goku lightly took his bottom lip into his mouth, running his tongue across it slowly. Before he knew what was happening, Kakarot had wrapped his good arm around his neck and was assaulting his mouth fervently, turning his head alternately opposite of Goku's as he crushed their mouths together.

"Oh gods," the young Saiyan moaned softly, delving into his mouth with his tongue, "I missed you so much, you have no idea..."

Unable and unwilling to resist, Goku complied with him, enclosing his lips with his own and stroking his tongue along Kakarot's, holding him close and careful to avoid touching any of his injuries. The fingers of Kakarot's uninjured hand tangled in Goku's hair, and he tilted his head, pressing against his mouth harder and wrestling with his tongue, moaning pleadingly, the sound dissolving into a deep purr. Goku tried to get closer to him without hurting him, on his knees between the younger male's legs, caressing a hand up and down his back as he kissed him passionately.

Kakarot was panting when he broke away for air, and he looked at Goku with desire heavy in his eyes.

"Goku... Can we make love now?... Please?" he implored, looking hopeful.

Goku stopped and sat back, about a foot or two of space between them. It was answer enough for Kakarot, whose gaze dropped to his lap, where now Goku could see that he had already been growing hard.

"You still haven't healed completely," Goku said carefully, "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm healed enough." Kakarot protested, "I can take it."

"No. I'm sorry." Goku shook his head. Whether he himself was desiring the other Saiyan as well, he wouldn't do anything to cause Kakarot harm. He'd already been through enough of that.

"By Broly's standards, I would be ready for another round by now -" Kakarot began heatedly, his green eyes sparking resentment.

"I am _not_ Broly!" Goku snapped, regretting his tone when Kakarot's gaze snapped to his with something very like fear.

Kakarot sighed dejectedly, "I know... Sorry, I just... it's been so long..."

Sympathy caused Goku's expression to soften. All Kakarot wanted was to erase the memories of pain and terror that Broly had forced on him... He wanted to be reassured that he was loved, and could still love in return. But Goku would not let himself be a monster like Broly; even if Kakarot was more than willing, it didn't feel right.

"It's not just your injuries I'm worried about," he said slowly, "You need to heal inside too; and I don't mean the way you think. Broly still has a hold over you, and he's left a lot more than physical scars... When we make love I want there to be no trace of doubt or fear, and for that to happen first we need to deal with Broly for good."

"Do you know how you're going to do that?" Kakarot asked quietly, a small amount of uncertainty in his voice.

Goku allowed himself to smile, and kissed his counterpart briefly, "Don't you worry, Vegeta and I have a plan. Just trust me."

X

The door was unlocked. As always. Broly shook his bangs out of his face dismissively; Kakarot knew it would be useless to lock the door, even if he did fear Broly above anything else.

Broly smirked. It was the perfect amount of fear that he'd imprinted into Kakarot; just enough to keep him guessing, to keep him looking over his shoulder and obeying Broly's every command. Not enough to drive him insane, but enough to make him sure he would be unable to escape from Broly, even in Hell. In other words, he wouldn't think to commit suicide in an attempt to free himself.

The hallways were dark; it was night, Kakarot must have gone to sleep. He could tell by scent that Radditz wasn't here, the long-haired idiot had spent nearly all his time with that royal prick Vegeta since Kakarot and Broly had been mated. Lecherous moron. Just because you slept with the prince of all Saiyans didn't mean you were royalty yourself.

Kakarot had been recovering much too quickly whenever Broly decided to teach him a lesson in humility nowadays. He no longer woke up screaming with nightmares, and no longer avoided his own home for weeks after one of Broly's "sessions". It seemed Broly was losing his touch; one main reasons he was here tonight.

He slipped silently through the bedroom door, like a shadow. The lights were off, and there was no moonlight tonight to reveal his presence. His eyes adjusted to the dark, and he glanced at the bed in the corner of the room. Kakarot was curled up, asleep, his blonde hair shadowing his face. One of his arms was heavily bandaged, as was one of his legs... one Broly distinctly remembered snapping like a toothpick. His golden tail was curled protectively around his waist. A sneer crawled across his face. Kakarot needed to be taught a lesson he'd never forget; a lesson that would seal the flawless fear he'd instigated, and Kakarot would be his obedient little pet forever.

"Time to wake, pet," Broly purred darkly, allowing a jab of malice into the words that he knew would spark that lovely fear he'd created.

Green eyes opened slowly and looked at him. Broly was a little surprised to see the glint of terror absent in them. Maybe he needed to try harder.

"Hope you've gotten some rest," he sneered, "You won't be getting any sleep from here on out."

No reply. Gradually, Kakarot sat up, meeting his eye with a startling amount of defiance. What was Broly doing wrong? Kakarot should be shaking in fear right now with the implication he'd made.

Maybe if he was more forward... "Think you know what pain is? You're about to be reeducated, tonight I'm going to break what's left of your spine."

Kakarot glared at him with fiery emerald eyes, and Broly's uncertainty heightened.

"Not if I break yours first, you monster." Kakarot snarled, getting to his feet. Broly took a step back involuntarily, confused. With the broken leg, he shouldn't have been able to stand, let alone so confidently.

"...Kakarot?" he said, unnerved.

Kakarot smirked dangerously, and when Broly looked at his eyes again he was shocked to see them paling, flickering and turning gold as red fur began to sprout over his shoulders and arms; the bandages wrapped around his arm and leg peeling away and falling to the floor..

"So close," Kakarot... or whoever this was... said sleekly, "And yet so far."

X

Kakarot sighed. He was dying to know if Goku's plan was working. Right now, he was stuck in Vegeta's guest room, confined to sitting in bed, bored out of his mind, but also worried half to death. What if Broly didn't fall for it? What if Goku couldn't take him on alone? What if the whole thing failed?

"Comfortable?" Vegeta asked, coming into the room and setting some food on the bedside table.

"Not really," Kakarot muttered.

Vegeta sat on the edge of the bed with a sympathetic glance – well, about as sympathetic as a stuck up prince could be.

"You're worried about him," he said in understanding, his tail flicking.

Kakarot crossed his arms, tapping his fingers against the bandages on the left one.

"I know this is part of this plan you guys made, but what if something goes wrong? He could have at least let me help."

"What would you have done?" Vegeta asked, "You would be more of a hindrance than a help."

"Thanks," Kakarot said sarcastically.

Vegeta looked slightly confused, "I don't understand you, Kakarot. The reason you're as injured as you are is because of Broly, and you want to go _back_ there when he's still on the loose?"

Kakarot sighed, "I want to help Goku."

"He'll be fine." Vegeta said steadily, "He's stronger than both of us, probably stronger than Broly too."

"Probably?" Kakarot asked frantically.

"But," Vegeta cut off his panic with a glance, "He's smarter than Broly could ever hope to be. Don't worry about him, Kakarot."

"What's his plan anyway? He didn't say exactly what it was," Kakarot asked.

Vegeta smirked, "Let's just say Broly is in for a shocker."

X

Goku wanted to laugh aloud at the look of dawning horror flooding across Broly's face. His transformation was completed, his red coat and black hair of his fourth form returning to him with a lust for revenge. His plan was working perfectly; he'd played into his similarity to Kakarot to catch Broly completely off guard.

"Wh-who are you?" Broly demanded, his tail wrapping around his waist defensively, "You're not Kakarot!"

"Am I not?" Goku leered, "It's a riddle alright."

"What the hell are you talking about? Tell me who you are!" Broly's hands clenched into fists, but Goku could see them shaking with uncertainty.

"My name is Goku," Goku said simply, "And I know exactly who _you_ are, and why you came here tonight."

"Where is Kakarot?" Broly snarled, baring his teeth warningly.

"Concerned?" Goku scowled, "Of course you're not. You only came here to force him to submit to you again."

"And why are _you_ here?" Broly snapped, looming over him with his greater height.

Goku felt a snarl lifting his upper lip menacingly. This monster had caused Kakarot more torment than he could ever have deserved in a million years. He couldn't undo that damage, but he could stop it here. And make sure it never happened again. And Goku couldn't deny he would enjoy bringing about the bastard's punishment far more than he should.

"Say your prayers, Broly." he said sharply, "Not that there's anything you could say to avert your descent to Hell... or make it any less painful."

TBC

_((Still stuck on this story. I don't think I'll be able to stop until I finish it, even if I finish it way too fast. Thanks for reading and reviewing, and there's still some time to suggest punishments for Broly you know..._

_-Shinsun))_


	10. Chapter 10

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 10

Goku could see Broly's posture changing gradually as he sensed the threat in the air, becoming defensive, almost fearful, his tail so tight around his waist that it must have been cutting off circulation somewhere.

He snarled at the monster, showing the full length of his teeth as rage pulsed hot through his veins.

"Why." the word dropped like a hammer blow, too harsh for even a question mark to stand beside it, "Why did you do that to Kakarot?"

Broly's lip curled and his hands clenched into fists, "I had to; to teach him his place. I -"

"Did you have to?" Goku snapped viciously, cutting him off, his voice shivering with fury, "Did you have to bring him so low that he couldn't even stand up on his own? Did you have to break his arms and legs and twist his tail into knots? Did you have to leave him unconscious and soaking in a pool of his own blood?"

"He wouldn't have obeyed me otherwise." Broly growled.

"You'd be surprised," Goku said, his voice surprisingly softer in this response; thinking of how gentle and eager to please the young blonde was. He grit his teeth and took a fierce step towards the taller Saiyan, "No, Broly. You just enjoy dealing pain, don't you? You loved to make him scream and struggle, you loved to break him, is that right? _Isn't that right?"_

Broly had been backing away slowly as Goku advanced, but now he stopped. He'd run into the wall behind him.

"What do you want from me?" he hissed, "An apology? What?"

Goku spat at his feet disgustedly, "Hardly." He bore down on the involuntarily cringing brute, lashing his tail in palpable anger, "You need to be punished for what you've done."

Broly laughed, but while the sound was meant to be cruel, it sounded slightly feeble as his eyes darted subconsciously for an escape.

"You don't have the nerve," he muttered, trying to stand straight.

Goku's tail stilled. It was Broly's only warning before a blur of movement and a _crack_ split the moment of silence, followed instantaneously by a scream. Broly's eyes were wide with fear, the arm Goku had just snapped still in its executor's unforgiving grip. Goku sneered and gripped the limp arm higher up, crushing another bone and eliciting another scream. He then broke Broly's wrist over his knee, cracking the arm down and listening to the wordless, frantic protests of his victim as he strained to escape his grasp.

He snarled and turned Broly around, slamming his face against the wall and hearing his jaw break, wrenching the ruined arm behind his back and twisting it. Broly was trembling, unable to escape and spewing a stream of profanities through a mouthful of blood.

"What did you do to Kakarot, then?" Goku whispered menacingly, taking the free hand Broly had braced against the wall in an attempt to break away and gripping his forearm. "Destroy his arms?" He twisted the undamaged arm around in its socket until it was dislocated, hearing a shrill sound of agony escape Broly's lips, "Break his bones?" He bent the forearm back until – with a sickening rip – the bone burst through the skin with a spray of blood. Broly was beyond screaming, his vocal cords strained to the point where he could barely produce sound; harsh, disturbing grunts and gasps rasping between his teeth, "Shove his face against the _floor?"_ on the last word, Goku threw Broly down on his stomach, watching his neck snap back dangerously and certainly painfully.

He stood over Broly's heaving back, taking his tail absently, almost gently, in his hand, all but caressing it, "Did you hesitate for even a moment..." he began quietly, stilling his hand near the tip of the shivering, furry appendage. He heard Broly groan a strained sound of denial, knowing what was coming, "...Before you snapped his tail like a twig?" His hand clenched, and he pinned the bristling tail against the floor in his fist, bringing his boot down hard on the delicate vertebrae, shattering them beneath the force. Broly's ki flickered in agony, and he didn't have enough air to produce a scream, his limbs jerking spastically. Goku felt Kakarot's rapist's energy dwindling, almost fading away as his consciousness slipped slightly.

"No. You. _Don't!_" He grit out, enraged, slamming his foot into the monster's spine harder with each word, twisting his tail viciously and breathing hard between his teeth, "You will _not_ pass out now after only enduring this much, you weakling! Kakarot is _ten_ times stronger than you if you're giving out this early; you will stay _awake_ and _aware_ until _I_ decide to put you out of your misery! Got that?" He lit a ball of yellow ki in his hand, the energy hissing as he laid it over the base of Broly's tail, singeing fur and knowing that he was sending white-hot agony up the monster's bruised spine. Broly convulsed, coughing blood and writhing to try to escape the torture.

He managed somehow to gather enough willpower to speak, choked and shaking, "Just...just k-kill me now t-then..."

"No." Goku growled, the yellow ki licking at the fur of the mangled tail in his grasp. "Not until you have a damn good idea what you've done to Kakarot all these years. You don't _deserve_ the mercy of death just yet."

With that he snagged a hand in Broly's shaggy hair and forced his head back, searing a path up from his tail to the nape of his neck with a scorching trail of ki, carving the spitting energy into his back, melting the skin in places. Broly's entire frame shook violently, and it took Goku a moment to realize he was sobbing, tears escaping and pouring down his face as Goku kept his head bent back.

"I'm s-sorry..." Broly's voice was ragged and saturated, and his words were little more than a whisper, "I'm _sorry..._ please..." his eyes squeezed shut, "...Just g-get it over with... just kill me..."

Goku's fingernails dug into the skin beneath the fur of his tail, eliciting a cringe and another shaky sob. He contemplated ignoring Broly's pleas and continuing his punishment a little longer. The bastard hadn't been nearly as brutalized or humiliated as Kakarot had been, and Goku's lust for revenge wasn't quite satisfied...

But if he tormented a person who literally begged for death... he would be just as much of a monster as Broly was. He wasn't here to deal pain, he was here for justice; for Broly to see what he had done and suffer for it... and he had.

"I'm not like you," He spat with conviction reverberating through the words, "I'm not a monster. There will be no escape from the guilt of what you've done... in Hell." He gripped Broly's jaw with one hand, the back of his skull in the other, "I just want you to know one thing. Kakarot is mine now; he was never yours. He belonged to me before you even laid a hand on him, and he wasn't as innocent as you thought he was when you forced yourself on him the first time." He met the wide, gradually comprehending eyes of his victim for a moment.

"You -!" Broly began furiously, but he didn't get to finish. Goku wrenched his head to the side sharply, snapping his neck and killing him instantly.

He stood straight with a resigned sigh, wiping Broly's blood off his hands. Stepping aside, he shot a cursory glance at the limp, lifeless form of the monster he'd destroyed. Broly's eyes were still wide open, glassy and empty, staring blankly at nothing; his mouth was slightly open, lax and still outlining whatever curse word he'd been about to snarl before his demise.

"You can't do any more harm now. I think you got off lightly, but the end result is the same. A worthless rapist dead for his crimes... Ruining Kakarot's perfectly good floorboards with his filthy blood."

Flicking his tail with finality, he pointed a finger at the corpse splayed on the floor, shooting a bolt of ki at the empty shell of Broly and incinerating it without a trace. All that remained was a burned section of floor, and a clotting stain of blood. He made a mental note to either strip the floorboards from this room, or get Kakarot to relocate to a new house. The taint of Broly would never fade on its own.

He wished it could have been Kakarot to deal to Broly what was dealt to him; he wished the true victim of this mess could have delivered the final blow... but he was glad Broly was gone either way. He couldn't have allowed a monster like that to live, and he had never intended to. The only way Broly could have reconciled for his sins would be with his life, and that was just what he had paid for them with.

"Pity," Goku muttered to himself, lingering in the doorway as he departed, "I'm sure Kakarot would have liked to pay his respects... And spit on the body of his fucking mate."

TBC

_((Pathetically short chapter, but it's past midnight, and I figure it's about time I wrote this scene. The next one will be longer and fuller, I promise._

_Reviews keep me alive! Feed the author!_

_Love you guys,_

_-Shinsun))_


	11. Chapter 11

Peripheral Reality

Chapter 11

It was almost dawn, and there was still no sign of Goku. Kakarot hadn't slept; his worry for his counterpart was too all-consuming for him to try. Around midnight, Vegeta had left him be, but he lay awake long after he was gone, watching the horizon pale gradually to herald the approach of the first of the two suns.

When the rays of the sun peeked over the cityscape, fear began to set in. He was sure it shouldn't have taken this long for Goku to either succeed or fail in his goal... why hadn't he returned? He tried to bolster his confidence in his lover by telling himself that Goku was nigh on invincible... but then, so was Broly. The only feasible way he could come up with for his furred companion to win would be through deception, and catching Broly off guard. He assumed Goku had thought ahead... but he wasn't sure if it would be enough.

Kakarot felt exhaustion weighing on him, having whiled away the entire night fretting; and every muscle felt heavy and aching. His thoughts drifted, devoid of pattern or reason, and he contemplated once again trying to sleep.

He remembered what Vegeta had told him before he left; that he knew Goku was strong and courageous enough to defeat Broly, because he was the same person as Kakarot. The compliment hadn't registered fully until the prince left the room, and once it did Kakarot felt he should have thanked Vegeta for his faith. He'd come a long way from being such an arrogant, selfish person, and Kakarot felt both he and Goku owed the royal Saiyan a lot. And he was extremely grateful for his friendship and support.

He must have closed his eyes, because they snapped open when the door creaked ajar. His fatigue faded, and then was completely banished as he glimpsed the familiar form of his lover in the doorway. Barely able to contain his relief, he threw the blanket over the side of the bed and rushed to Goku's waiting embrace; forgetting for a moment that his leg was still injured and staggering drastically, almost collapsing if not for the strong hands that steadied him.

Sparing no time for words, he only responded avidly as Goku captured his lips in a deep kiss that made his toes curl, tangling a hand in the older Saiyan's wild, dark hair; a soft sound of approval escaping him. Goku's teeth grazed his lower lip before he dove in for another kiss; mouths and tails twining together.

Kakarot didn't think of resisting as he was guided to the bed; barely able to think at all, in fact, with the wonderful, warm mouth assaulting his own. He felt his heart quicken with excitement as he was gently laid on his back, Goku kneeling between his thighs to kiss him harder.

Kakarot broke away for a moment to look into glimmering golden eyes above him.

"Now?" he asked breathlessly, anticipation coursing through him.

Goku purred rapturously, a dark, carnal smirk on his face.

"_Now_." he affirmed, stealing Kakarot's mouth and his breath with hungry lips and talented tongue. Kakarot wrapped an arm around the back of Goku's neck, increasing the contact and intensity, and he lifted his hips in a plea for his counterpart's touch, releasing a quiet moan.

Goku's cherishing hands swept from his shoulder blades to his hips, lifting him from the mattress a little, long enough to drag his shirt over his head and toss it aside. Those amazing lips traveled down his neck and chest, sucking and biting occasionally, avoiding places where healing bruises still marred his skin. The furred Saiyan was considerate, but his actions were full of passion, and he had Kakarot shaking and pleading wordlessly in a very short amount of time. It had been far too long since he'd been allowed this.

"Gods," Kakarot panted as Goku kissed and nibbled below his ear, "I love you... I love you so much..."

Goku purred and caressed the underside of his thigh, pressing close enough that Kakarot could feel hardness against his stomach. "You'll love me even more after this," the furred Saiyan chuckled, the rumble in his chest turning the words sultry and almost dangerous.

A strong red tail coiled around Kakarot's leg, above the bandages, and Goku's lips, tongue, and teeth mapped his chest, always returning for a fevered taste of his mouth. Fingers slipped under his loose leggings, feathering over the sensitive skin above his growing arousal, drifting down the inside of his hips, but deliberately avoiding the straining organ itself. Kakarot's breathing was rough, and he moaned as Goku licked and lightly bit one of his nipples, his fingertips still tortuously skirting around his aching desire. The waistband of his leggings was slowly lowered, freeing him to the air; and a hot breath was expelled against the crinkled bud of the nipple Goku was worshipping, evaporating moisture and making Kakarot's skin tingle. His lover's tongue trailed down his chest, sliding into the coves between his abdominal muscles and melting back as teeth lightly scraped the base of his erection. And finally, Goku's lips enclosed around the weeping head.

Kakarot jarred his bandaged arm - but took no notice of the dull jab of pain - as he rose to his elbows and tipped his head back with a groan. He could have been drowned or lit on fire, and he doubted he would care in the slightest. All his mind was wrapped around was the humid depths of Goku's throat enveloping him, the fluid tongue slipping along the granite flesh, teasing ridges and veins as the older Saiyan slowly bobbed his head, purring glossily. Kakarot arched into the warmth and pressure, a choked sound escaping him as his tail freed itself and began thrashing desperately.

"Fuucckkk..." Was all he managed to say; his teeth clenched as Goku sucked hard, the throb of his purr and the smoke of his scent overwhelming his senses.

He could feel Goku's smirk around his flesh as the older Saiyan took him in his throat, grazing his teeth against the base of the shaft for a moment.

Kakarot fell back against the mattress, unable to think, unable to breathe, as he crested the peak of orgasm; his head pressed against the sheets he shredded between his fingers as he came with a drawn out groan, forcing his blurring vision to steady itself so he could watch Goku's reaction. The furred Saiyan's gilded eyes were glinting with a mix of deep affection and heavy lust, and he drained the essence released in his mouth and throat gradually, savoring, and allowing Kakarot's now-flaccid cock to slip from his mouth.

Kakarot's eyes fluttered closed as he caught his breath, sweat running down his forehead and neck as his tail swished lazily, flicking against Goku's shoulder a few times. He responded eagerly as the contact of lips covered his own, tasting himself and the fire of his lover. Goku tasted of the color red, the color of sky of the planet he was born on, of blood and flame and passion. So similar to Kakarot and yet so unique in his own way... He couldn't get enough.

Goku kissed down his jawline, licking the outer edge of his ear and lightly biting the lobe before whispering to him.

"Kakarot, you should be dominant this time," he murmured softly, brushing his lips over the delicate skin beneath his ear, "It's only right..."

Kakarot shook his head twice, meeting his counterpart's golden gaze, "I waited... five years for you... I want to feel you again..." He connected their lips briefly, "...Make me forget everything else."

Goku looked hesitant, but then he purred softly and returned the kiss, "Alright, if you're sure."

Any clothing remaining on either of them quickly vanished, and Goku carefully straddled Kakarot's waist, taking consideration of his injured leg, and not resting too much of his weight on him. The furred Saiyan nuzzled the side of his neck, sucking on the skin until he raised dark marks under the pressure. His hands caressed Kakarot's chest and hips, feathering over his inner thighs and eliciting a gasp. He felt two of Goku's fingers tracing his lower lip, an invitation, and he latched onto them, enveloping the digits in his mouth and lubricating them with saliva, purring softly as Goku withdrew the slicked fingers and moved them down. The wet tips hesitantly touched and circled his entrance, golden eyes resting on him with a fair measure of concern beneath the desire, seeking reassurance that he wasn't causing pain.

Kakarot did register a dull ache telling him he hadn't completely healed from when Broly had taken him, but he ignored the discomfort and instead focused on the soothing touch, only wincing a little as one of the slick fingers eased into him.

Goku took it very slow, never moving past the first knuckle, adjusting Kakarot gradually to the contact as if it were his first time and he was just an inexperienced, blushing virgin again. After a while the second finger joined the first, stretching slowly and carefully, finding and exploiting Kakarot's sweet spot with practiced ease. Kakarot moaned a plea; this inch-by-inch process was going to be his undoing... but still Goku didn't rush, almost painfully gentle, bringing pants and moans from Kakarot with each movement of the digits within him.

"Please..." Kakarot gasped raggedly, "I need you...now..."

X

Goku could see the desperation in Kakarot's shaking form, could hear it in his voice; but he was still hesitant. He didn't want to cause him harm, and he knew there would be at least discomfort when he finally entered that beautiful, waiting body... Still, he didn't wish to disappoint Kakarot again, and the younger Saiyan was absolutely trembling with need, having waited for the closeness and love he'd been deprived of for so long...

Gently capturing Kakarot's lips in a sweet kiss, he withdrew his wet fingers from within his lover and ran them over his own aching desire, slicking himself carefully. He positioned his hips, and gold eyes locked with green for a heart-stopping second before he pressed into Kakarot's pressure and heat. Kakarot groaned, and Goku distinctly saw a brief flash of unease, just maybe pain, come into his eyes. He faltered, tense with worry, watching the clench of the younger male's jaw and waiting for him to tell him to stop.

Kakarot relaxed after a moment, and leaned up to brush his nose against Goku's jaw, "I'm fine..." he reassured him in a whisper, a light purr softening the words.

Releasing a slow breath, Goku nodded to show he had heard and understood, drawing back slowly before sliding home, a shallow, light thrust. He repeated the action once he was sure he hadn't hurt Kakarot, purring soothingly. He froze, every muscle jumping with alarm, when the young blonde whimpered something unintelligible.

"Did I hurt y-?" he began.

To his surprise, Kakarot growled impatiently and cut him off, reaching up with his good arm to grab Goku's bangs, glaring at him, "Dammit, I didn't wait half a decade for you to tiptoe around!" he snapped, "If you're going to do something, do it right. Believe it or not I _am _stronger than I look."

Goku stared at him, honestly at a loss for words. While Kakarot did sound angry, Goku knew he was mostly just imploring, reproaching... and a little insulted that Goku would think he would break so easily.

Kakarot apologized for his outburst by – still holding Goku by the hair – kissing his counterpart lovingly.

"I want _you,_" he murmured when he drew away, "...All of you... I don't want you to hold back."

Goku held his gaze a moment, then nodded again, letting out a slow breath before thrusting again, deeper and surer than before. Kakarot arched against him with a sound of approval, his tail wrapping around Goku's arm, red fur brushing together with golden.

Leaning down, Goku claimed his lover's lips once again, stroking their tongues together as he established a steady, if rather rhythmless pace. Kakarot wrapped his uninjured arm around Goku's shoulders, drawing him closer and taking control of the deep kiss, meeting each one of Goku's movements eagerly.

Every time he struck home Kakarot moaned low in his throat, answered by soft, purring groans from Goku's own; and as the pace increased gradually, so too did the volume and frequency of their combined vocalizations, as they moved with each other and kissed fiercely, pushing each other further towards release with each driving and more confident thrust.

Goku broke the kiss for air, panting unsteadily as he felt himself nearing the edge. And judging from Kakarot's writhing and the pleading, higher pitch of his cries, he was there too.

"...I love you," Goku whispered, driving into Kakarot powerfully and lightly kissing the bridge of his nose. Kakarot's fingers tangled in his hair and he grit out a sound of agreement, beyond words and incoherent at this point.

Two more thrusts had Goku's vision blurring, and he watched through hazed eyes as Kakarot went rigid, arching off the mattress and throwing his head back, groaning Goku's name and spilling his seed across his stomach and chest. Goku drove in one more time before his orgasm took him as well, nearly stopping his heart as he released into his lover.

They lay together, an intertwined tangle of limbs, gasping for breath and sweating heavily.

"...Kakarot," Goku prompted after a while, when their breathing had somewhat regulated and their heart rates had slowed a bit.

"Yes?" Kakarot panted, his eyes still closed.

Goku hesitated, and lightly kissed his lover's throat, "I'm going to make you my mate."

Kakarot looked at him briefly, and then purred; partially with acceptance, and partially with amusement, "Of course, it's only right."

Blinking at him, Goku asked with his eyes.

"Well you killed Broly," Kakarot clarified, "So you have the right to take his mate for your own."

"I don't want to make you my mate just because of some property issue," Goku argued.

Kakarot smiled, "I know. And I'll gladly accept you," He wrapped his arms around Goku's neck, bandages chafing a little even as he pressed their lips together passionately.

After a few seconds he broke away and looked at Goku steadily.

"You're the only one for me."

TBC

_((Good gods, this chapter took me _weeks_ to finish... Why it was so challenging to find the motivation to write it is beyond me... Anywho, we might get one or two more chapters in this story, and then it must draw to a close. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always._

_Love you guys,_

_-Shinsun))_


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